Golden King of Zero
by sakurademonalchemist
Summary: Louise's last chance to prove she's a proper mage results in something unexpected. She summons a familiar alright, but no one told her she could summon an actual KING. Ko Gil is in for a wild ride of political intrigue, headaches of the troll variety courtesy of a world traveling vampire, and all the fun of having a Tsundere for a master. Reconquista won't know what hit it!
1. Chapter 1

It was her last chance to prove herself as a mage. The Springtime Summoning Ritual.

Louise clutched her wand, and sent out a prayer. She didn't care what she got, just that something would answer.

She felt something latch onto her core, judge her, and deem her 'worthy'. All in the span of a breath.

The explosion was larger than normal, but the result was something no one could have anticipated.

"As per your summons, I have come. Are you my Master?"

Louise and everyone there blinked when they heard the distinct human voice...albeit one with an accent no one recognized.

What followed was pandemonium.

But the end result was the same. Louise had summoned a _human_ for a familiar, and a child no less. He couldn't be more than fifteen, if that. He didn't seem overly surprised about the familiar runes, only that they were engraved on him, rather than Louise.

It wasn't until nightfall that Louise bothered to get a good look at her new familiar.

He was about her age, if not younger. His hair was like spun gold or possibly sunlight. His eyes were blood red and almost had a slit through them. He wore strange garments that were clearly meant for mobility, yet at the same time he had a necklace that was clearly made of gold...not something a commoner would wear casually unless they weren't a commoner at all.

There was also the way he held himself. Confident, but at the same time with a hint of arrogance only a noble would have.

At least no one mistook him for a simple commoner after the kid...boy... summoned a sword out of nowhere to prove he wasn't some peasant.

Only a mage could use magic, though they had no idea how or where he got that sword.

About the only good thing out of this mess was that the boy clearly wasn't from around here, and had admitted to not having family anymore. So it wasn't likely she was going to be dragged up before the Princess because she somehow kidnapped a noble's son.

Still, the fact he might be a noble like her kept her from taking out her frustrations on him. Or at the very least, treating him like a Servant.

"So. What's your name anyway?" she finally asked.

"I was summoned as an Archer Class...but you can just call me Gil," said the kid.

* * *

Gilgamesh, or 'Ko Gil' as he was sometimes called, decided to walk around this new world (because even at his worst, copying the moon was a bit much for Zelretch). Or at least the Academy.

He ignored the playboy and the idiot girl who believed him. They weren't his problem, and frankly he could care less.

It didn't take long for him to find the kitchens, or for his natural charisma to charm some food out of the cook. It wasn't that he was hungry, per say, but that he wanted to see if the food here was adequate for his Master.

Surprisingly, it was.

It was hard to believe a mere slip of a girl managed to summon him, even if she had dragged his child self from the Throne of Heroes. Still, it wasn't that bad. He had been quite bored.

On the way back to his Master's room, he saw a maid dutifully cleaning some clothes in a spring.

Since it was unlikely his Master would need him while she was asleep, and he was still quite bored, he went to talk to her.

The girl jumped a little when she realized she had an audience.

"I'm terribly sorry about that. You startled me. Are you lost?"

Gil shook his head.

"My new Master is sleeping, so I thought I'd take a look around the school. You looked like you could use someone to keep you company," said Gil.

"New Master? Are you the familiar Miss Valliere summoned earlier?" asked the woman.

"Pink hair, short fuse, and everyone was clearly wanting to mock her for summoning something other than an animal?" asked Gil. The woman nodded. "Huh. She only asked for my name without bothering to tell me hers, so I had no idea what it was."

She had been too exhausted by the day's events to remember small things like introducing herself.

"It was quite the shock, but I am somewhat happy for her. The nobles were talking about how terrible it was that the youngest daughter of the Valliere family couldn't use even the simplest of spells," said the girl.

"Considering the amount of magic I'm getting from her, she must be overpowering them without realizing it," said Gil off hand. It was so bad that there was no way he could take astral form, so he was essentially stuck in an almost living body.

Considering who he had been before he died, she was lucky she had summoned him, rather than his adult self. _He_ would have killed her for the way she _almost_ treated Gil, had it not been for the fact she instinctively recognized a King, even if she didn't know what sort of noble he was. As it stood, he could tell she had almost made him do chores only a servant would do, like undress her or do the laundry.

So long as he kept her from trying to order him to do such things, there was little chance _He_ would kill her if the need required _Him_ to make an appearance.

Gil disliked Gilgamesh, King of Heroes. He couldn't understand HOW he turned into...that.

"So what's your name?" asked Gil, leaning down so she didn't have to get up.

"My name is Siesta. What's yours?"

"Call me Gil."

"It's nice to meet you Gil. Would you like to help?"

Gil shook his head.

"I don't know the first thing about chores, so I might mess it up. Somehow I get the feeling the people here wouldn't like it if I tried, and it would get you into trouble," said Gil.

Siesta nodded. It only cemented the rumor that Louise Valliere might have accidentally summoned a noble from another country. A noble _definitely_ wouldn't know the first thing about doing chores.

"Well since I have only a little bit more to do, why don't you tell me more about where you're from?"

Gil grinned. He had made a new friend, and he didn't think his charisma ranking had anything to do with it for once.

He was even nice enough not to wake his new Master up the next morning with the pitcher of water Siesta had been kind enough to give him.

"Good morning, Master," said Gil.

It took Louise a few moments to properly wake up, but by that time Gil had already set out what he assumed was the school uniform for the day before leaving the room.

Familiar/Servant or not, there were some things even _he_ wouldn't do. One of which was dressing a girl more than old enough to do it herself. If she really needed help, he'd be happy to hire someone he considered reliable enough to do it, but loyal enough not to stab his Master in the back.

Fortunately Louise didn't demand he dress her after all, as it was blatantly clear he was a noble, just not one from a family she recognized.

* * *

With no classes for the day, she decided to try and figure out where she accidentally summoned him from...and hope like hell she didn't get her family in trouble for it.

What happened next gave her a rather good opinion of her new Familiar.

Louise growled with open anger as Kirche flirted with her familiar, obviously trying to seduce him like she did ever other boy. Gil, however, had other ideas. Mostly because he saw it as the perfect chance to get in his new Master's good books with a few well placed jibes.

"I'll keep that in mind, Granny lady!" he said with a smile.

It took a few moments for those words to filter through Kirche and Louise's minds, but when it did Louise gaped at him while Kirche's mouth dropped in shock.

There was stone silence all around them, as Gil continued.

"After all, it must be tiring counting the coins from all your lovers, Granny!"

That was the straw that broke the camel's back for Louise, as she realized that yes, her familiar just called Kirche _old_ to her face rather than stare at her...assets...like every other straight male in the school. More than that, he called her out on the fact she had a lot of indiscriminate flings...and subtly insulted her in the same breath.

She started laughing, hard. It was so nice to see that bully Kirche on the other end of the cruel jibes.

"Why you little brat!" hissed Kirche. "Do these look _old_ to you?!"

Gil made a show of looking, before he said rather simply in the most insincere tone of innocence "Did you stuff your uniform this morning Granny?"

Louise laughed even harder. Most were too shocked to respond. Not only had Louise's familiar subtly call Kirche a harlot, but he also made it sound like her bust wasn't real and that she was _old_.

Yes, Kirche was one of the older girls in second year, but she wasn't old enough to be anyone's grandmother.

Seeing Kirche boil over like a kettle that was too full, Louise finally had the presence of mind to remove Gil before she took it out on her new familiar.

She was still snickering evilly though.

"I take back any bad thing I said about you yesterday after I summoned you. You are the best familiar I could have gotten!" said Louise, giggling evilly. Kirche looked furious, and had stomped off to prove she wasn't old and that her chest was in fact real.

"I'm glad you approve, Master~!" said Gil smiling innocently.

Seeing the girl from last night come with a basket, he made a point to subtly point her in the direction of the boy she was talking to last night. The blond didn't see the action, but the result was instantaneous.

Both girls slapped him in anger, as he thought he could get away with dating both.

"Hmph. Serves Guiche right. He's always flirting with the girls around here, so it's only natural he get slapped," said Louise.

"Ah! Siesta, thank you for your help last night!" said Gil, noticing the maid from earlier. "I didn't even have to use the water to wake her up like I thought!"

"What water?!" said Louise. "You can't mean that pitcher that was in my room on my dresser!"

"Well I didn't know if you were an early riser, and since this is a school I thought you would want to be on time to class," said Gil.

Louise's mouth open and shut like a fish, before closing with a snap.

Gil did make a point to subtly trip the blond fop as he made his way past him.

With how quick he was to move his foot out and back under the table, it was unlikely the idiot even realized what he had done until _after_ he tripped on the outstretched leg.

Louise certainly didn't.

The blond idiot (apparently named Guiche) decided to take his embarrassment out on the one person he thought couldn't defend their honor.

Siesta, who had only been doing her job passing out refreshments.

"You! How dare you trip me, a noble! I'll have you pay for that!" shouted Guiche, despite the fact Siesta wasn't nearly close enough to have tripped him. She was just a commoner, easily replaced.

Before he could do anything, there was a sudden burst of pain...not enough to knock him out but certainly enough to make him think twice about attacking someone...from behind.

"For your information, _I_ was the one who tripped you. You shouldn't disrespect girls so much if you expect to have an _actual_ girlfriend," said Gil, his voice as cold as ice and just as friendly.

"You ignorant brat! You're nothing more than a stupid familiar summoned by that failure Louise the Zero!" said Guiche, his rage getting the better of him.

Gil's glare went up a notch, and to the shock of everyone he snapped his hands and said clearly in a tone that spoke of authority _"Enkidu."_

Chains materialized out of nowhere, trapping Guiche before he could properly react to the magical attack. He fell over a second time, as the chains bound his legs so that he couldn't move at all. Gil's voice was sickeningly sweet and could almost be mistaken for pleasant had it not been for the tone he used.

"Now you either apologize for the insult to my Master or I will leave you hanging from the tallest roof I can find while having all the girls you've cheated on in this school use you for target practice," he said flatly.

Louise blushed. No one had bothered to defend her before, and certainly not as effectively as Gil had.

"Why should I apologize to a failure of a mage like Zero?" said Guiche tactlessly.

That did it. Louise's face was red with absolute fury.

"I demand an honor duel, Vestri court in one hour!" said Louise dangerously. Her face was full of fury.

Guiche smirked, and everyone chattered excitedly about what just happened.

Louise looked at her familiar.

"You can beat him, can't you?" she whispered conspiratorially.

"He's so doomed it's not even worth mentioning," said Gil immediately.

"Um...thank you for coming to my defense earlier," said Siesta.

Gil waved his hand.

"There's no sense in punishing someone obviously innocent, especially since you were just doing your job and were in the wrong place," said Gil. "Besides, you at least seem more competent than some people I've seen."

Louise eyed the maid. She couldn't order a fellow noble to do chores, but hiring a maid wasn't entirely out of the question. Depending on how the duel went, she might ask this Siesta if she'd be willing to work as her maid.

She'd seen her around before, and she was competent.


	2. Chapter 2

The news Gil would act as her proxy in the fight was met with few raised eyebrows. After all, he was a familiar and possibly a fellow Noble. They were more interested in what he could do.

So when Guiche summoned his Valkyries, Gil took one look at them and did something no one expected.

He laughed. Long, hard and with open mockery in his voice.

"Please tell me that's not the best you're going to use," he said, snickering.

They weren't even remotely at his level! He wouldn't have to use even the weakest weapon in his treasury to take them out!

Guiche looked pissed, and sent his cheap Valkyries at Gil.

Gil easily sidestepped them and stole it's spear. Then unseen by everyone his right hand glowed as the runes activated.

Using his superior Servant's stats, Ko Gil took out the Valkyrie with contemptuous ease. He didn't feel like fighting however many cheap copies this idiot could summon, so he used his speed to get right into Guiche's guard and pin him with the very weapon the fool had summoned.

"Do you surrender?" asked Gil with the perfect calmness of a Servant who wasn't about to hesitate ending a witness. Not something he had to deal with here apparently, but still the voice of someone unafraid of _lethal_ violence.

Guiche looked openly ready to piss himself.

"I yield! I yield!" he yelped at the slightest pinprick.

Gil stabbed the spear into the dirt.

"You owe my Master a _proper_ apology. And a word of advice? I knew a boy much like you that treated women as things. His end was not swift when he was confronted by someone much stronger than he was and didn't care that he was just someone in way over his head. You might want to rethink your attitude before you join him in the lowest point of whatever passes for hell here," said Gil in warning.

Shinji had been similar to this blond idiot, but with far less morals. He was a magus born without a hint of magic, and his death had been painful because he had joined a war he had no reason to belong in.

Gilgamesh might not have given a damn about this fool, but Gil wasn't his adult self. He did still care about humans. Well that and Shirou had rubbed off on him at some point.

Louise looked at her familiar, jaw dropping for a few seconds, before a vicious grin appeared on her face.

Any doubts about his competency were shot to hell. She had summoned something far better than any simple cat or mole.

Guiche would approach her a few days later with a _proper_ apology. It felt unbelievable to be vindicated like that.

* * *

"Where are we going?" asked Gil.

"To the market. Partly so Siesta can pick up a few things, but mostly so I can properly outfit you with a weapon and armor," said Louise.

Gil blinked.

"I don't need any armor. I have my own with me. I would be interested to see what sort of weapons are available outside of the custom made market though," said Gil.

"Yes, well I can't afford a custom weapon after I bought Siesta's contract earlier," said Louise.

Gil had vouched for her, as did the other servants. And Siesta almost seemed _relieved_ to be working as Louise's maid for some reason.

So in order to better serve Louise (who wanted to get some custom soaps for her clothes) Siesta was given a few gold coins from Louise's allowance for the month and told to get the best bargain she could get while matching the scent without skimping on the ability to clean. Siesta was rather cheerful about the fact her contract was bought by Louise.

Gil was quite bored, and he was curious about the magic in this world.

Though he had to admit, the look of shock on Louise's face when she saw his armor on the ride to town was hilarious. Apparently she had never met anyone with actual GOLD armor that was worth a damn. Not even her mother had any good opinions of such wasteful spending.

The fact that it was actually useful was the reason why she was shocked.

"Remember, you can wander around town for a few hours once we get you a sword," said Louise.

Gil tactfully didn't tell them he already HAD a sword. Multiple ones in fact. He was wondering if she had forgotten him summoning one to prove he wasn't some plebeian kid she had summoned by accident.

* * *

 _In the sword shop..._

Gil inspected the swords with little interest. Since this was a shop at the same level as the common folk, it was hardly likely there would be anything of actual worth.

And seeing the shop owner trying to overcharge Louise for something that was more flash than actual use, Gil snorted.

"I wouldn't buy that for one gold coin. It would break on the first use against anything of real power," said Gil flatly.

Louise stared at him, before glaring at the owner.

" _HA! He got you there old coot!"_

Gil whipped his head around to the sound. It had a metallic twang to it, which meant it couldn't have come from a living human.

It was a sword. A _talking_ sword.

He definitely didn't have that in his treasury. Besides, it was the best forged one in the entire shop, from what he could see.

Gil walked up to the sword, and brought it up to the counter.

"How much?"

"Fifty silver," said the owner without hesitation. "You sure you don't want something a little...newer?"

"I'd much rather have the sword that's withstood time and is still very much a good blade than some cheap new model that will break at the worst time," said Gil without hesitation. "Besides, I've never seen a _sentient_ sword before."

" _Hoho! Someone who recognizes my true potential!"_ said the sword smugly.

"Shut up Derflinger," said the owner, who accepted Louise's coins.

After they exited the store, Louise looked at the rusty thing.

"You sure you're fine with that old thing?"

"I may have neglected to mention I have thousands of more powerful swords and weapons whenever I want. Far superior to the trash they sold at the store. However I've _never_ seen a sentient sword before," said Gil. It was slung across his back.

" _Better listen to him girly. Even I can sense he's not a normal Gandalfr,"_ said Derflinger.

"What's a Gandalfr?"

" _Legendary familiar. Only gets summoned right before major crisis and upheavals. Means you're going to be very, very busy soon,"_ said Derflinger. Seeing their looks, he chuffed. _"I'm old enough to remember Brimir girly. Not the first time a human's been summoned as a familiar."_

Louise stared at the sword.

"You and I are going to have a very long talk later, sword."

" _Just call me Derf."_

They were wandering around the market (Louise wanted to inspect a local bookshop, since she still had plenty of her allowance left) when they heard the commotion.

Gil watched with irritation as a Noble arrogantly knocked over a little girl over a minor accident...and his reaction when he went to kill her made Louise blink when he disappeared.

Gil casually held the arrogant noble by the neck. His small size didn't really matter when he was holding him up anyway.

"I think sir, that you should remember where you are. Behaving like a common thug over something as minor as a _spilled potion_ is hardly becoming of a proper noble," said Gil calmly, his voice like ice.

He hated anyone who reminded him of Gilgamesh.

Louise's mouth opened and closed, as she was too stunned to react to his 'attack' on another noble.

The noble huffed, before walking away. There was something in the boy's eyes that terrified him.

Gil turned to look at the shocked pair. A mother and daughter by his guess. He held out a hand to the little girl on the ground. She paused before taking it.

"You alright?"

She nodded.

"Thank you for intervening," said the mother.

"Gil... what was that about?" said Louise dangerously.

"I wasn't about to let that arrogant idiot kill a little girl over something as stupid as a minor spill on his outfit," said Gil flatly.

"Thanks, onii-san!" said the little girl brightly. Gil gently patted her head. And with a little slight of hand left a few silver coins in her pocket.

"You should enjoy your day out with your cute sister," said Gil, winking at the mother.

"I think we've taken up enough of their time, Ellie."

"Okay Mom. Thanks again, big brother!" said Ellie.

"Remember, enjoy your day out!" said Gil as they left.

"...You slipped some of the coins I gave you into her pocket, didn't you?" said Louise quietly.

"Only a few. I still have most of them."

Louise smiled. She kept finding more and more reasons to like her familiar. He was a sweetheart who defended her without hesitation and didn't stare at the other girls like most men did around her.

* * *

Louise was browsing the bookstore when she spotted Gil looking bored. Making a decision, she said "Why don't you go see how Siesta is doing?"

"And carry everything she ends up buying back?" he added dryly.

It was a common fact. When a woman goes shopping, it's usually up to the _men_ to carry back their newly acquired junk.

Still, they had all these books in the school library, and he didn't feel like buying any to read.

It took Gil twenty minutes to find Siesta. And when he did, it was with a familiar face.

From an hour and a half ago.

"Gil!" said Siesta with surprise.

"Louise sent me to check on you. Find everything alright?"

"Yes, I was just catching up with my cousins," said Siesta.

"Big brother!" said Ellie.

Siesta looked between Gil and her cousins.

"You've...met?"

"Ellie accidentally spilled some elixir on Count Mott, and he stopped things from escalating."

Siesta and her cousin shivered, likely in disgust from their expression.

"I take it this man has a reputation?" said Gil.

"He likes to hire pretty commoners as his 'mistress' and use them. Rumors have spread that those picked are rarely able to get employ after they're so broken," said Siesta. "I've been thanking Brimir that Miss Louise bought my contract."

Gil didn't like the sound of that.

"Why haven't charges been brought up against him then?"

"He's a noble. We're commoners. No one would take our word for his," said Siesta sadly.

As if to break the tense atmosphere, Ellie suddenly discovered the ten silver coins Gil had slipped into her pocket.

"Mom, look!"

"Where did you get that?!"

"I slipped it into her pocket earlier. I thought it would be a shame if her big day with her mother was ruined by some stupid noble, so I knew that finding some unexpected good luck might brighten it again," admitted Gil.

Siesta giggled.

"You're an absolute sweetheart Gil," said Siesta.

"And before you get any ideas of returning it, I'll become selectively, deaf," continued Gil cheerfully. Siesta giggled again.

"I think Uncle would love meeting Gil," said Ellie, giggling.

Siesta imagined that meeting, and giggled as well.

Gil looked up at the sky.

"I think Louise might get impatient if we're out much longer," he said, after seeing the sun's position.

Siesta walked with Gil back to the agreed meeting point if they got split up, after Gil used some of _his_ magic to carry all her purchases for the day. They even managed to get a few things along the way, as Gil still had 'pocket money' which would have qualified as worth much of anything. Hell, he barely knew _what_ to do with so little 'graciously' given to him by his master.

He was Gilgamesh, for Brimir's sake! He had more gold in his Gate of Babylon than Louise's family made in a year, if they were lucky!

* * *

They found an impatient Louise waiting for them, with a rather large number of books. Considering he knew she liked to read, and he never bothered to _read_ the copy he had, which for some reason was written in what looked like old Norse, Gil pulled out a hand written book his previous "master" Caren had given him to keep him occupied. Mostly because they got a few things wrong.

"What's this?"

"Well I noticed most of your books are written in what's considered a dead language where I come from, and this is a pretty close equivalent to it. It's called ' _The Epic of Gilgamesh, King of Heroes'_. Someone gave it to me a while back and I never remembered to return it. I did have to edit it a little though," said Gil, barely keeping a straight face because he was basically telling Louise who he actually was.

Her anger placated (mostly out of scholarly interest), she noticed Siesta.

"I found those soaps you like so much. They had a sale on them and some perfumes," she said cheerfully.

"Where are they?" asked Louise, honestly curious. Her jaw dropped when Gil reached his hand out to his side...and a golden ripple appeared, which he promptly used to bring out a familiar soap bar. "What the... How is that possible!?"

"It's something I've been able to do for a long time. I can put anything I want in there, but I can only pull a limited amount at once. Especially weapons. I've collected a lot of those," said Gil. Technically he wasn't lying.

"Useful. If we ever have to go on missions, you're carrying our supplies," said Louise.

"Naturally," said Gil.

"So did you enjoy yourself, Siesta?" asked Louise. Gil had been quite firm that she should at least make attempts to interact on a positive level with her maid.

The reasoning being that they were less likely to betray you or worse, stab you in the back if they genuinely liked you.

Considering Louise had indirectly provided a shield against nobles like Count Mott from 'buying' her contract from the school, Siesta was more inclined to be loyal to Louise. The fact that under her tsundere exterior (and Gil had laughed long and hard when he finally recognized that his new Master _was_ a total Tsundere out of her earshot) she was actually a really nice, if very insecure girl didn't hurt either.

Siesta took Gil's advice not to take her rants to heart. What she said and what she meant often were too different things as she tried to save face. That and Louise was more inclined to slip little extras to her new maid to make up for being a 'brat', when she was really just taking out her frustrations on the one person she knew she outranked.

Gil had confiscated her whips and other objects that made him raise an eyebrow upon learning his master was quite possibly into "S" and "M" relationships (unlikely she knew that about herself, considering her age) the first night. He had been quite bored, after all, and snooping was perfectly acceptable. Besides, he had finally located what he had been looking for, which was a book that had the native writing of this world in it.

It hadn't been too hard to make mental comparisons with Norse runes, and from there it took him an hour at best to crack the written language. As someone who was born in the time that the Universal Language was still around, never mind his status as a Servant, he automatically spoke the language.

There were a lot of perks.

Louise smirked triumphantly when Gil once again made a crack at Kirche's age and the fact she was known for being the school's "mattress" without saying it outright. Seeing Kirche taken down a few pegs was always satisfying.

However she hadn't known Gil had become quick friends with the bookworm Tabitha, or her familiar Sylphied. Something about meeting up at one of the towers to watch the sun set while they read their books?

Tabitha never mocked her like Kirche, and Gil made it clear he wasn't interest in girls just yet, so Louise could ignore their odd friendship.


	3. Chapter 3

"A familiar exhibition?"

"Princess Henrietta will be attending," said Louise, and her tone of voice made Gil look up. He recognize that tone, even if his adult self had only ever used it on _one_ person in his life.

"Childhood friends?" he guessed. She was too young for it to be anything _but_ that.

Louise nodded.

"We haven't spoken to each other since I was accepted into the Academy. I really want to impress her to show her that despite my status as Zero, I'm still a good mage," said Louise nervously.

"If she really _is_ your friend, then she'll be just happy to see you again, successful or not," said Gil, turning his page.

"It's not just that. I want to prove to everyone that your win against Guiche wasn't a fluke."

"Basically you want me to show everyone what I can do, to prove that you're more than just a failure, despite the fact that they've accepted my status as a fellow noble who was accidentally summoned," summed up Gil. He hit upon an idea. "How good are you at riding a horse?"

"I'm a noble. I learned when I was six, and I'm competent enough that I can rent a horse from the school's stablemaster," said Louise without hesitation.

"You've more or less learned to tune out explosions, right?" said Gil, and idea forming.

"What do you think?" said Louise sarcastically.

"Here's what we'll do..." said Gil.

The more he outlined his plan, the bigger Louise's grin got. She liked this plan. She liked it a lot. Yes it meant she'd be messing up her spells by the dozen, but this time she would be doing it _deliberately_ and aiming at the same time! Proving that her explosions were more than accidents she had resigned herself to. More than that she'd be displaying something she _knew_ she was good at.

Now where could they get moving targets?

* * *

"A combined exhibition?" said Guiche. His attitude had taken a complete one-eighty after Gil put the fear of Brimir into him. He still flirted, but he wasn't nearly as bad and he put more effort into mastering what magics he did know.

It was _exactly_ the wake up call he needed.

Gil nodded, with Louise there just in case.

"I checked the rules twice. Mages can perform in a combined exhibition provided that both sides use this as a chance to display _their_ ability in a way that benefits both. In this case you can display your Valkyries and your mole's ability to launch boulders and do more than dig for jewels, while Louise can display her riding ability and her aim, while I use my magic to show off my accuracy using magically enchanted weapons," said Gil.

It made sense. Guiche was very good at creating moving targets, and his specialty was his Valkyries. And Verdandi could dig up big boulders that she could throw up into the air.

Once they'd privately confirmed Louise could handle Gil launching loud attacks while remaining behind her as she steered the horse they rented from the stablemaster, and that she _could_ aim her blasts with some degree of accuracy, they'd brainstormed on who to ask for help.

Guiche blinked.

"To be honest, the only thing I had in mind was me and Verdandi on a bed of roses showing ourselves off. This is far more interesting," he admitted. And it definitely showed off his skills in a more positive light than the day Gil had beaten him.

"How many Valkyries can you create?"

"Do they have to attack?" asked Guiche.

"They just have to be mobile enough to present a moving target. Not too much that Louise can't hit them, but enough that they present some degree of difficulty," said Gil.

"In that case, about twenty or so, but any more and I have trouble controlling their movements," said Guiche.

"That's plenty," said Louise.

"And I don't know if Verdandi can launch any rocks bigger than my head," said Guiche.

"It just has to clear the horse. I'll be the one dealing with those," said Gil. He was basically going to rip off Counter Guardian EMIYA's trick. Not that he felt any shame about that fact. Compared to Shirou, his naive self, Archer EMIYA had been a total ass. He would have launched some of his treasures like he normally did, but that trick was solely limited to his adult self who had more mature circuits and the power to pull it off.

He found it easier to simply drag out something from his treasury and use it like it was intended. And with the runes of Gandalfr... Professor Colbert had confirmed that the runes were indeed Gandalfr, and that with them came the ability to use any weapon as well as any skills associated with it which meant his treasury was going to be put to a far more efficient use than he had anticipated... Gil honestly felt sorry for anyone stupid enough to attack his Master, Servant or not. He was already on a level that could be considered overkill when it came to his stats and the near limitless Noble Phantasms he had access to (even diminished because of his "child" form), but add on top of that the runes and their ability to enhance the familiar to the point they didn't really need training while using them... yeah, anyone stupid enough to threaten Louise or anyone she told him to fight against were so boned it wasn't even funny anymore.

The thing that bothered him the most though was the feeling in the air.

He could sense ley lines to an extent, and this place was practically pulsing with magical energy in a pattern he _recognized_. The fact Louise had summoned him as ARCHER said volumes, even if his body was far more in line with how he had been in real life, fully powered.

He was almost positive that this world had accidentally spawned a new Grail War, and that meant trouble.

Unless someone had found a way to summon a Servant on purpose, sparking the war. In which case Gil was going to instruct them on what a _bad idea_ that was, slowly and possibly in the most excruciating method he had available.

Until he had confirmation of that fact, Gil was content to let the other Servants squabble for their prize. Let the fools come to him, and then instruct them on what a bad idea that was.

As Louise and Guiche discussed specifics (it seemed he was now fully on board with the idea, since it gave him a chance to fully display his familiar's combat potential, as well as his own ability) Gil let his mind wander, chiming in every so often to help them refine their ideas.

They had three days to practice, which Louise would use to help with her aim and refine her riding technique. Because he had to be sure to hit the targets, Gil wasn't even going to bother sitting down...he was going to stand up.

* * *

 _Three days later..._

The news about the combined display of two mages was news to the other Second Years. It was unusual, but not overly much. Quite a few people had seen Louise and Guiche iron out the details and Louise riding at a sedate pace with Gil standing on the back aiming wooden arrows at small rocks thrown by Siesta and Guiche's familiar Verdandi. He hit them every time, but it was more for Louise to get used to his presence standing behind her while she directed the horse.

It wasn't until the second day of their joint training that Louise noticed something surprising.

The number of people calling her a Zero dropped. Quite a bit in fact.

Yes, she still messed up her spells so often it was funny, but realizing she could _use_ her explosions to attack, even if they weren't intended for that originally came as a shock.

It wasn't smart to piss off a tsundere who could _aim_ where her explosion would hit after all. Some of the nobles from military families looked at Louise in a new light seeing her attack Guiche's Valkyries and having them destroyed.

It was rather sobering realizing that Louise could do more damage with a simple light spell against an enemy than most nobles could with a single fireball spell.

In short, Louise was gaining more confidence, finding that her 'failures' could be useful. Her temper tantrums dropped as she realized she might not be able to use basic spells, but she wasn't a total failure like everyone called her. And she didn't need magic to be a researcher.

As Gil cheerfully pointed out, she could be a treasure hunter once she graduated, finding lost magical items to bring back to her princess (soon to be queen) and gain her own name for herself. She was good at research, her explosions made her more dangerous than normal...and Gil encouraged her to learn some nonverbal ones so she could use them to escape in the event she was gagged...and with Gil as her familiar, it was unlikely she'd ever get into too much trouble.

Louise, realizing he had a point and finding that far more appealing than being the wife of Sir Wardes before making a name for herself as something _other_ than Zero, had begun writing to her mother and father asking for advice and whether it was possible to put the wedding on hold.

She was originally supposed to marry Wardes after graduation... which was entirely her parents idea. Not that she minded, she liked the man after all, but after being given a new direction she felt that she would rather wait before making such a decision.

After all, once married she would be expected to bear children and raise them, not go out adventuring and treasure hunting which was quite dangerous.

Still, Louise would have been nervous had it not been for all the practice and knowing Gil was a perfect shot. Having him around seemed to boost her meager confidence. There was this strange charisma about him, and it did wonders for her.

So they waited, and when their names were called up Louise got on her horse and Gil stood at a crouch behind her. He was confident, and so she leaned on him to get this right.

Guiche summoned his Valkryies, and Verdandi would wait until five had been destroyed before sending her boulders up.

Louise set off, her rented horse going fast enough to be manageable, but not slow enough to be called a trot. Gil stood up and destroyed the first Valkyrie. Louise followed suit, destroying the slower moving ones since her aim wasn't the best.

She learned to tune out the boulders, putting all her confidence that Gil would destroy them. She focused on steering the horse and aiming.

Suddenly there were no more attacks, and Louise slowed her horse to a trot, before waiting for Gil to help her down. Her legs were shaky, but she had learned to ignore it.

It took her a few seconds to register the sound of applause, and seeing the broad smile on her friend's face made the entire three days of training worth every second of it.

It somewhat irritated her that she didn't win the competition, but being unanimously given second place felt good. Besides, Tabitha had been pretty impressive in her own right.

Then everything went to pot.

She had heard rumors of Fouquet of the Crumbling Dirt, but she never thought the thief would be so bold as to attack the school!

However it wasn't until Fouquet went to make a cheap shot at Henrietta, thus distracting the guards, that Gil bothered to act.

Gone was the strange bow he had used during the display.

In his hands was something far more fierce.

" _My core is twisted in madness_ ,"said Gil with conviction. The 'sword' in his hand elongated, becoming something far more suitable to being shot as an arrow.

He released, and the resulting explosion nearly caused Fouquet to crash onto the unforgiving ground below.

And she would have, had it not been for the untimely intervention of another intruder. This one on a flying ship she had never seen before.

Gil narrowed his eyes.

The scarred woman who caught Foquet and took the box she had been stealing looked in Gil's direction and laughed.

"I never thought King Arthur would be summoned, but this looks like it'll be a fun war!" she said cryptically, before flying off with Fouquet.

Louise blinked. What was that about?

Gil growled.

"Damn it all to hell. I was hoping I was wrong and it was just a coincidence..." he muttered.

Louise turned to him with wide eyes.

* * *

 _Later that night..._

"Alright spill. What did that woman mean when she called you 'King Arthur' and what war was she talking about?!"

Gil sighed.

"She got the title right, but the name is wrong. I'm not the King of Knights. As for the war...I wasn't sure until that pirate showed up, but apparently somehow a Grail War has started on this world."

"Grail War?"

"There is supposedly a 'holy artifact' which can grant any wish through the use of a magic ritual called Heaven's Feel. Through use of the third true magic, you can force a manifestation of a miracle. Now I'm not sure if such a thing as a Holy Grail exists here, but it's clear that the Heaven's Feel ritual has been initiated. Seven servants and seven Masters will fight each other until only one Master and Servant pair remain. The winning Master will receive the ability to grant a single wish."

"What sort of 'Servants'?" said Louise, taking this news fairly well.

"Legendary heroes, those who's fame is so well known that they remain in the minds of people long after they're dead. There are seven major classes which are always summoned. Lancer, Archer, Saber, Assassin, Berserker, Rider, and Caster."

"When I summoned you... you called yourself Archer," said Louise, remembering.

"That was the 'class' you summoned me into. Archer, one of the three Knight class types. I gain a boost in speed and the ability known as Independent Action, meaning I can operate freely for three days if you are taken out, or our contract is removed, unless a Command spell is placed on me while the Contract is active. Though from the looks of it, the command spell that binds a Master and Servant has been effectively replaced by the familiar system."

Louise blinked, before rubbing her head. This was a lot of information to take in.

"Why do we have to fight for something as intangible as a miracle? I didn't even _ask_ to join in on this ritual!"

"Because the ritual can't be shared among others. To be fair, it was started by a collaboration of three Magus families and a vampire who's known to be a troll of the highest order. It's a miracle that it they could even _work_ together to get the first war started."

"...What's a troll?" said Louise confused.

Gil blinked, before remembering they didn't have the same 'slang'.

"Someone who enjoys the misery of others and inciting new ways to cause migraines. For example, the vampire I spoke of has a thing for causing all sorts of trouble for anyone unlucky enough to gain his attention like dropping them in alternate worlds that make no sense just to see his victims struggle to find a way back, or playing minor pranks just to annoy people," said Gil after thinking about how to explain it best.

"Why hasn't anyone killed him yet then?"

"Because despite being a vampire, he's very good at training new mages, even if there's open pity for anyone stuck with him. Besides, he's usually bothering other worlds," said Gil shrugging.

"So what exactly do I have to do?" asked Louise seriously. She couldn't exactly up and leave during a _war_ after all. Her parents (and older sister) would never let her hear the end of it, never mind the fact that her pride wouldn't let her back down.

"Nothing. Our best approach is to simply let them come to us. Since I have no idea if all seven have been summoned or if it's just now getting started, there's no point seeking out enemy Masters. Especially since a common and viable tactic is to take out the Master rather than the servant. They're human and much, much weaker."

Seeing her shocked expression, Gil grinned at her.

"Of course if it does spiral into a proper war, you can rest assured that as long as we're Master and familiar the other teams won't stand a chance in hell. And that's before _he_ is set loose on them."

Louise cocked her head.

"'He'?"

"Hopefully the situation never develops to the point that _he_ will have to make an appearance, but if it does I apologize in advance for his attitude. He's difficult to be around, but he's one of the strongest Servants for a reason."

Gil just hoped like hell Gilgamesh was never needed. He _hated_ his adult self. And he certainly would never acknowledge the authority of the women who ran the country at the moment.


	4. Chapter 4

"...Explain to me again how we got roped into tracking down Fouquet's last known location to arrest her?" said Gil.

Louise refused to look at him, but he could guess. Because Gil was the only one who recognized the woman who took the thief, they had been called in. Naturally her sense of pride made it impossible for her to back down once Kirche got involved. He had come to realize that Louise would never back down from Kirche.

And Kirche was friends with Tabitha, and had likely followed her.

"...There were mitigating circumstances."

Tabitha said nothing, but she did look up at Louise and then at Gil.

"More like they believed I could possibly identify the thief since I recognized that woman who made off with her," said Gil flatly.

He didn't know _who_ she was, but he knew her class. Anyone who used a ship as a Noble Phantasm could only be Rider.

"So which book are you reading Tabitha?"

"...Louise let me borrow it," said Tabitha.

Gil looked at the title. It was the book he gave Louise.

"If you need help translating, just ask. I have a few more if you're interested in others," he said finally.

Tabitha looked at him seriously, before nodding, happily returning to her borrowed book.

"It's an interesting read, isn't it, Tabitha? I mean I feel sorry for the King in the book, because he lost his best friend thanks to a jealous goddess when he said he wouldn't marry her," said Louise.

Tabitha nodded.

"The king didn't deserve to lose his friend over a woman who only wanted him because he was handsome," agreed Tabitha, surprising Kirche.

"'Hair of flames, with eyes blood red. A body personally formed by the gods and a treasury that is unmatched,'"quoted Louise. Tabitha nodded, and seen only by Gil she blushed at the description.

He knew for a fact there was a general picture of him added after the Fourth Grail War, taken by Caren that he had used as a bookmark. A picture of his _adult_ self.

Louise had blushed as well, because he hadn't had a shirt on and his red tattoos were showing. It was only because of Caren's foresight that people didn't know Gilgamesh had been attempting to seduce her at the time, and had been entirely naked when she took that picture.

It was shortly after that when Gilgamesh took the potion of youth, thus returning him to his child self in an attempt to get out from under Caren's control.

Needless to say it failed spectacularly, because Ko Gil was nothing like Gilgamesh, and didn't have as much a problem with his master.

Gil however, was not reading. He was observing their driver, the assistant to the headmaster.

She fit the general body type of the thief. And because he was an Archer servant, he had very good eyes.

He had the feeling Fouquet was leading them right to the stolen weapon, though why he had no idea.

* * *

Gil extended his senses, trying to find any Servants in the area. He couldn't feel any, but that meant nothing when an Assassin could slip past any wards.

When the girls went in to check on the cabin (Louise joined them when Gil declined), the golden Archer turned and smirked at the adult next to him.

"You're not really fooling anyone with that act of yours."

Longueville turned to look at him, wide eyed.

"What do you mean?"

"I could care less if you rob the nobles blind or what reason you have for being a thief. Threaten my master again and next time I won't be nice enough to miss with an arrow," said Gil flatly.

She stared at him, shocked.

"That being said, you might want to reconsider your plans because if you run into a different Servant, they might not be as _nice_ as I was," said Gil.

"...Who are you?"

Gil smirked. Clearly she knew what he was talking about.

"I'm of the Archer class," said Gil honestly. Because he went by the name Gil, no had any idea of his real name, much less how dangerous he was.

Longueville looked at him, eyes as wide as saucers. She quickly realized that the Staff of Destruction wasn't worth fighting over, much less challenging a Servant for.

It was better to cut her loses without a word, than it was to try and retake the damn thing. She wasn't an idiot.

Suddenly she winced. Gil narrowed his eyes at her.

"Unfortunately I don't have a choice in the matter."

Gil used his superior eyesight to find out what the cause was. He caught a glimpse of a slave-seal on her nape.

"And if you did have a choice?" he asked.

"I'd owe you big. As in willing to do almost anything big," she said flatly.

Gil made a quick decision.

"Bend down. I have something that might be able to deal with that thing on your neck," he said.

She didn't have anything to lose. She came within reach of his hand, and he drew a thin dagger. The metal was too thin to be of any practical use, but she could feel the magic coming off it.

"This is a ritual dagger called Rule Breaker. For a weapon, it's not very practical, and would break easily. But the main purpose of this isn't to attack directly. It can undo magical contracts and bindings. Hold still while I remove that seal on your neck," said Gil flatly.

Her jaw dropped. That sounded like an extremely useful tool. Still, she stayed perfectly silent while Gil used the dagger on her. It felt beyond strange, but she could tell immediately when the seal was removed.

Finally. Finally she was free of that bastard!

"Now...why were you going through this convoluted plan?" asked Gil seriously.

"Mostly to confirm Ms. Vallierie had indeed summoned Gandalfr, and that the Staff of Destruction was a powerful as rumors claimed. If it was I was to bring it to the man who placed that damn seal on me at once. He's behind the current civil war in Albion," said Longueville without hesitation.

"And what does Gandalfr have to do with anything?"

"Only a Void mage can summon one. That bastard wanted to make sure his suspicion was correct, because it means that he could use Louise as a pawn in his political game, setting her up as the second coming of Brimir to overthrown the current queen of this country."

"And who is this soon to be dead mage?" said Gil dangerously.

"Her fiancee," said Longueville. She had to quiet down, because the girls had found the staff.

Gil looked at her, and could see from her eyes she was telling him the truth.

"I believe you."

"You should watch out for his partner. The man was insane enough to rob a water spirit in a neighboring country and he has these strange markings on his left hand," said Longueville.

"What's the name of his partner?"

"Cromwell."

Kirche brought out the staff, and Tabitha scouted the area for Fouquet.

Naturally they found nothing, as Longueville wasn't suicidal or foolish enough to attack when there was a _Servant_ right next to her. Especially since he was nice enough to remove the seal that would have killed her for a little information.

With the seal removed, Gil had gained a useful source of information...and she wasn't about to lose that status. It was clear that out of the two of them, Gil had a better idea of how the world worked and wasn't afraid to kill to do what was needed. So long as she could be useful, he wouldn't come after her. After all, she was still a very successful thief, and a source of information he would have found out the hard way, likely at the worst moment possible.

* * *

With their triumphant success in returning the 'staff', which Gil immediately identified as a one-use rocket launcher from World War II, the dean decided it was the perfect time to explain about the runes on Gil's hand. And about the origin of the 'staff'.

"So this world is partially connected to the Kaleidoscope?" said Gil, having made the connection between someone from an alternate world and this one. A lot of things started to fall into place.

The ritual that pulled familiars from alternate realities. The fact that _Servants_ were able to be summoned under the proper class cards, albeit boosted beyond what they were on Earth. A sentient sword.

Gil groaned, having connected the dots to only one possible conclusion.

"By any chance are there legends of a mysterious stranger with red eyes and a penchant for causing mischief just to inconvenience people for his own amusement? One by the name of Zelretch?"

The dean and Colbert blinked.

"You know of the legendary teacher of Brimir?" said Colbert.

Gil promptly walked over to the wall and started banging his head against it.

Of course Zelretch was involved.

"Are you alright?" asked the dean, genuinely concerned.

"If by alright you mean finding out that the entire mess concerning void mages is the fault of a multiverse traveling vampire who has a habit of being a pain in the ass to deal with, then yes. What exactly is this 'void' element anyway?"

"It doesn't really have a class outside of being called Void. No one knows exactly what it is, only that legends claim it is a power that can take many colors, like a gem in the sunlight," said Mr. Colbert.

"And that just explains why Zelretch was here in the first place. This Brimir must have accidentally accessed the Kaleidoscope, gaining the attention of the world-hopping vampire. Knowing him, he must have thought it hilarious to introduce the Heaven's Feel ritual and tie it to the Void, insuring that every time one was born, the Ritual would activate."

It made too much sense.

The Servant system was the perfect way to insure that the Void users didn't get themselves killed, because it would drain most of the excess magic off. The Gandalfr runes would also help unintentionally train the mages for him.

Gil made a face.

Odds were that the vampire would show up at some point, find out that Louise was a Tsundere, and insist on training her personally.

He was so not looking forward to _that_ headache.

* * *

Gil was dressed in something casual (for his time anyway) but still making it blatantly obvious he was a noble.

"Having fun? How much have you drank?" asked Louise. She had mellowed out since finding out a way to use her magic and not be called a Zero ever again.

Gil swished the wine in his glass.

"It's fine, but I've had better with higher alcohol content. At best I'd call this adequate," he said unconcerned.

"This is a school after all. You'd be better off trying to ask one of the teachers if the know where to find the better casks," said Louise. Even she admitted the wine they served here was barely adequate. Her father had a much better collection. Though her mother's collection of fine wine put most nobles to shame.

"If I get any more annoying news, I might dip into my own personal collection," said Gil flatly. "I might even share."

Louise stared at the twin moons, before speaking.

"You know when you first appeared, it seemed like the worst possible thing that could have happened."

"And now?"

"Now I wouldn't trade you for even the fiercest dragon," she admitted.

Gil had done more than prove she was a mage. He had given her the confidence she lacked and a purpose. And that was worth more than any title.

And, best of all in her mind, he didn't look at other girls like a dog in heat. If she had to have a human familiar, it was nice to know that he only looked at her that way.

Louise turned to hide her sudden blush. She was engaged! How could she think of another man that way?

Though to be fair, Gil was closer to her own age and far more attractive. There was this strange charisma about him that made it hard to look away. He also encouraged her in her magic, and didn't look at her with the same fond amusement that Wardes did when he found her reading. He accepted her to a point whenever she went on a temper tantrum, or when her frustrations got the better of her.

Still, she was engaged to Wardes, even if her mother agreed to put off the wedding until she found her own path in life. At this point she was still surprised her mother was so accepting of her newly chosen career as a treasure hunter.

"So have you found a way to silently cast a spell?"

Louise nodded.

"I have to practice a spell until I no longer even need to think about it in order to cast, but considering my penchant for making things explode..."

"I can help you practice. Chose something simple, and we'll work on it later," said Gil.

Being able to blow herself up was an excellent and viable tactic for breaking control spells over her. If someone attempted to control her mind, then using a silent spell and causing an explosion because she couldn't reign in her magic was the perfect distraction. One they'd never expect no matter what happened.

Louise had an impish look as she said "Would you care to dance with me?"

Gil was bored enough, and this seemed fairly harmless. He knew it was fairly common for Masters to fall for their Servants, especially if they were the opposite gender (or occasionally the same gender), so the fact Louise was showing several signs of being attracted to him wasn't surprising in the least.

According to the dean, familiars were life long partners, and frankly all he had to look forward to was returning to the Throne of Heroes anyway. He saw no reason to try and discourage her budding affections, provided he could keep Gilgamesh reigned in.


	5. Chapter 5

Louise was in a foul mood, and for once it had nothing to do with her inability to cast without saying the words out loud.

No, this had everything to do with a slimy noble who unfortunately happened to work in the palace as the messenger.

Count Mott.

"So he tried to buy your contract, and when he found out it had already been purchased by my family he attempted to convince you directly?" said Louise, furious.

Siesta nodded miserably.

"He kept hinting at how awful it would be if my family members were to suddenly find themselves without a home, without a job or worse, put in jail on charges," said Siesta.

"Sounds more like blackmail if you ask me," said Gil flatly.

"How dare he! Just because he's angry I bought your contract first does not give him the right to force you into entering his service!" said Louise hotly.

Siesta was an excellent and hard worker. She was able to soothe Louise's infamous temper when Gil was unable to do so, and she was very kind. She never looked down on Louise for only being able to use explosions. And Louise always made sure to treat Siesta fairly and with respect, even giving her small raises so she could buy something for herself at the market whenever she did any shopping.

So the fact Count Mott _dared_ to threaten her maid infuriated Louise beyond belief.

"Just out of curiosity, what would it take to bring this fool up on charges?" asked Gil.

"He'd have to be found guilty by several nobles, or at least someone who could contact the palace directly. If we caught him doing something like holding commoners hostage for sport, then he would be tried and possibly stripped of his noble title," said Louise, before adding "But I refuse to risk Siesta on the chance of having him arrested."

"Who said we have to risk Siesta?" said Gil.

Both girls turned to him.

"I could easily take her place or pretend to be a girl and then expose him for the dog he is. Or I could just castrate him as a reminder to keep his hands to himself."

"Or instead of risking my familiar in a convoluted plan that might very likely fail, I could offer an alternative," said Louise, interrupting him.

"What kind of alternative?" said Siesta, concerned.

"A duel between familiars. Loser has to agree to give up all claims on you."

"Oh I like that. I like that a lot," said Gil evilly. No way in hell some mere animal would be able to compare to him.

Siesta blinked, but then she remembered the stories she'd been hearing about Gil.

"Are you sure that's safe?" said Siesta.

"It's a better idea than a plan to infiltrate his mansion. Odds are once he realizes his familiar is badly outclassed, he might try to kidnap you directly. And if he does that, then I have grounds to storm his mansion in order to retrieve my personal maid, and he opens himself to legal action from my family. And before you say anything about not being worth it Siesta, it's a matter of honor if he takes you after being publicly defeated. It means he considers me a lesser mage, despite my rank," said Louise.

"We're setting him up for a nasty fall if he insists on hiring you, despite being the personal maid to third daughter of the De La Vallière." said Gil, clarifying it.

"I just hope nothing bad happens," said Siesta.

* * *

Count Mott jumped at the chance to make Siesta his 'maid' (he really intended for her to be a mistress, and everyone knew it) and accepted Louise's offer to settle this with a familiar battle. While he had heard rumors that the girl had summoned what many assumed to be a fellow noble to act as her familiar, he fully believed the girl to have summoned a mere commoner.

After all, there were multiple guards in place to prevent other nobility being summoned to act as familiars.

All thought of Gil being anything less than nobility went out the window when he saw the armor the boy was wearing. There was no way that the infamous Karin of the Heavy Wind would allow her daughter to borrow enough money to make gold armor, let alone gold plated. And considering she was still a student, it was impossible for her to have saved up enough herself.

And that was before one got to the air about the boy, who calmly and arrogantly stood in the field awaiting him to summon his familiar so that they might get this started.

His very posture screamed "nobility". It was something no commoner could ever have a hope in hell of copying, no matter what they did.

Still, he was just a brat. What did he have to fear from a brat?

As he would come to find out, a lot. While his Master wasn't very proficient in magic, save for making things explode, her familiar was quite the opposite.

This...Gil...was a force of nature.

He was left with a badly injured familiar and a complete sense of being utterly crushed by someone so far above him that there was no comparison.

And for someone like Count Mott, it simply wasn't acceptable that a mere slip of a girl could summon such a superior familiar. While he couldn't force Gil to become his own familiar, he could avenge his wounded pride by getting the prize anyway.

He could care less about the consequences at this point.

* * *

Gil was aware the _second_ Mott had made off with Siesta. And when informed of the situation, Professor Colbert, Tabitha and Kirche agreed to help resolve the situation. Though to be fair, Kirche only came because she found out Tabitha was going with Louise.

Louise finished writing a missive to Count Mott, which Sylphied delivered by dropping it in an area someone was sure to find it. To make certain he knew it was from her family, Louise used the seal that she had kept locked up until this point. It was a personal seal that was only to be used in official documents...her mother had given it to her as a congratulatory gift for making it into the school.

She kept it short and simple. He had one hour to return Siesta, or she would be forced to take her maid back by any means necessary. Since he had essentially taken her after he failed to 'acquire' her through a legal and public manner, she wasn't limited in taking him to court and trying to get Siesta back that way.

Professor Colbert kept an eye on the clock. Tabitha had confirmed that they found Louise's missive, and that Mott had read it. Rather than allowing Siesta to leave the estate, he had sent her into an interior room and had his men fortify his mansion. When the hour passed, Colbert sighed.

"Miss De La Vallière, you have permission to retrieve Ms. Siesta from Count Mott," he said formally.

Colbert and the others went outside and borrowed horses...except for Tabitha.

It took them less than an hour to ride to Mott's mansion, where they found a strong resistance awaiting them.

"Louise, do you trust me?" said Gil from behind her.

"Of course I do," she said without hesitation.

"Then tell me. How lethal do you want me to be while you ride on through?"

"...Maim only, unless they target me directly," said Louise finally.

Gil's grin was predatory.

"Understood, Master. Remember how we practiced this before then. You be the rider, and I'll be the one to take out anything in your way."

"I'm counting on you, Gil. Professor Colbert, could you hold everyone back until I've retrieved Siesta from Mott? It might better if everyone else was an observer unless something happens, since this is a personal matter between me and the Count," said Louise.

"I agree Miss Louise. I wish you the best of luck," said Professor Colbert.

Louise mentally prepared herself for what she was about to do. Then she set her horse into a gallop, trusting Gil not to fall off and to keep the soldiers off her.

Gil drew a bow and some spiked arrows from his treasury, then stood up from his crouched position, able to keep steady on the moving animal with little difficulty.

He began sniping before Louise was within spear's length of the soldiers.

Like a sea of bodies, the soldiers fell to either side of the horse and it's riders. Louise kept on riding with a determined expression, tuning out the screams of pain from the men before her. She had a job to do and she was damn well going to do it.

She burst through the doors of the mansion.

Count Mott was waiting for her, and he looked more surprised than anything. Likely because of how quickly Louise had gotten in, or how proficient Gil was at clearing a path while riding in such an awkward manner.

"Count Mott. I am here for my personal maid," said Louise formally. Her tone brooked no nonsense whatsoever, and she made it clear that she was not leaving without Siesta.

"Insolent girl! You're just the spare daughter of the Vallière family! How dare you barge into my personal mansion for the sake of a mere maid!" said Count Mott, regaining his wits.

Gil refrained from snorting, having coached Louise on what she should say once they were in.

"I might only be the third daughter of my family, but at least I have more honor than the palace messenger! You kidnapped Siesta despite the fact you lost a duel legally in front of our peers! You're the one who's overstepped your boundaries, _Count_ ," said Louise icily.

Count Mott sneered at her.

"You might have defeated my familiar, but you'll never defeat me," he said.

"Master, if I may? Allow me to deal with this honorless mongrel while you retrieve your servant," said Gil smoothly.

"Very well. Remember to leave him alive for the Princess to deal with," said Louise.

Count Mott prepared to stop Louise, only to find himself facing a Heroic Spirit all too happy to beat the crap out of him.

* * *

Louise made her way up to the second floor, where Tabitha last saw Siesta. It took her fifteen minutes to locate her, despite the distracting noise below.

Siesta was beyond relieved to see her.

"Miss Louise!"

"Hey Siesta. Ready to leave?"

Siesta nodded fervently. Then she remembered something important.

"You said you needed proof that Count Mott was up to no good in order to get him arrested?"

Louise looked at her in concern.

"He didn't hurt you did he?"

"Because of how quickly you mobilized to get here, he didn't have time to. But there are others in the basement level that aren't so lucky," said Siesta quietly.

Louise felt her insides go cold.

"Show me. If it's really bad then Professor Colbert will send a letter to the palace immediately," said Louise.

Gil was bored. For the most part he kept Count Mott too preoccupied to fight back. He was decent, but that was it. He had allowed his cushy job to keep him from bothering to practice his combat spells.

He immediately noticed Siesta, followed by a shaky and horrified Louise. He practically vanished and reappeared by the girls.

"What happened?"

"Gil, capture Mott and do not let him escape. I need to get Professor Colbert in here immediately," said Louise, her voice shaking. From what, he couldn't say.

Gil looked at the smug Count, before snapping his fingers.

 _Enkidu._

The heavenly chains bound the man so effectively that escape wasn't a possibility.

Louise took Siesta outside, where she promptly asked Professor Colbert to come with her.

Whatever he found in that basement had his eyes turn cold with repressed rage. Still, he controlled it admirably enough to calmly ask Gil a question.

"Would you happen to have something that can break enchanted locks? I wouldn't trust the Count's honesty to find the actual keys," said Professor Colbert.

"Actually, I do. If you can insure he doesn't leave the grounds I can break any lock he's placed," said Gil.

Whether through brute strength and superior magic resistance, or through the use of his treasures, those locks were going to be destroyed.

* * *

 _In the basement..._

Gil found it hard not to march up to the upstairs and kill Count Mott. Very, very hard.

He had seen some depraved things, from his adult years of indulgence, to the aftermath of the insane Caster servant from the Fourth war, to the years spent with Kirei Kotomine.

It was only those experiences that kept him from losing whatever he had eaten that day and possibly for the past week.

The 'basement' was more along the lines of a depraved torture chamber meant for every form of degrading perverse entertainment. It was a miracle most of the girls still alive were even sane.

As it was, they were understandably terrified of men.

Gil was methodical, putting all thoughts out of mind as he calmly destroyed the locks, before allowing Siesta and Louise to lead the girls to the upper rooms where they would be allowed to at least attempt to get dressed and eat while the palace mages sorted this out.

Once their cages were open, he went upstairs and did not attempt to approach them. Instead he put the time they had until the palace responded to Colbert's letter to good use.

He brought out a blunt sword that wasn't of any real use outside of a bludgeoning tool and decided to take out his disgust on the man responsible.

If Count Mott could walk after having his kneecaps completely smashed beyond human repair and having his leg tendons viciously cut through, he would be surprised. Colbert turned a blind eye for five minutes, which was more than enough time to painfully castrate the bastard. After that, he stopped Gil with the reminder that the man couldn't stand trial for his crimes if he was dead from shock and bloodloss.

It would be a restless week for the girls while they came to terms with the horrors of that basement.


	6. Chapter 6

Louise tossed and turned. She couldn't sleep.

Every time she tried, she kept having nightmares of that scene Siesta had showed her in the basement.

The women had been rescued and their medical bills paid for personally by the princess. Mott was arrested, stripped of his title and properties, and according to what she heard had died from the shock of being caught...along with the shock from what Gil had done to him.

Suddenly she felt something warm on her shoulder.

It felt strong, but at the same time protective and kind. It made her feel safe.

In the middle of her nightmare, a golden light pervaded from someplace above. Almost like an angel sent to protect her. Her restless sleep drifted off into an uneasy one.

* * *

Awake, Gil sighed. That was the third time this week since Mott's arrest that he'd had to sit next to Louise before she could properly fall asleep. She put on a brave front, but the scene she had stumbled on was a rude shock for the sixteen year old girl. Even she acknowledged that she had been sheltered from such evil growing up. It was only natural it would bother her.

So, while Louise slept, Gil had gotten in the habit of sitting next to her on her bed. It was only because she instinctively sensed his presence that she had been able to get anything resembling sleep.

He had come upon this 'trick' after hearing Kirche had refused any 'gentleman callers' and had been sleeping next to her salamander for the past week. If this didn't get resolved soon, he was going to drag all three to therapy with the only female he knew would be reliable in this sort of situation (and she did still owe him a major favor) and deal with it before it became a headache.

When Louise woke, it was still with bags under her eyes, but at least she had gotten _some_ sleep.

Looking at how exhausted she was, and seeing similar signs in Kirche and Tabitha, Gil made a decision. He grabbed the other two girls, pushed them into Louise's room (who protested the intrusion with a loud squawk of indignation, which he ignored) and told them all firmly to stay.

Then he tracked down Longueville, who was still acting as a spy and brought her to the room. But not before explaining the situation and how she was uniquely suited to help.

(I/E, because she had ovaries and was old enough to at least listen.)

Then on the off chance Siesta had been affected as well, he dragged the surprised maid to the room.

"Gil, what is the meaning of this?"

"You lot are obviously affected by what happened at Count Mott's mansion, and I'm tired of seeing Louise toss and turn at night from nightmares. So I asked Ms. Longueville to give you some advice while you talked about what happened to a teacher. Siesta as well, since she was the one that Mott had expressed an interest in directly. I'll be back with some food and explain the situation to Professor Colbert so you have a day off classes," said Gil flatly, with a tone that brooked no nonsense from any of them.

The girls (save for Longueville) stared at him in disbelief. Finally Kirche spoke.

"Could you bring Flame in?" she asked sheepishly.

"Of course. Tabitha, do you want Slyphied as well?"

The normally quiet girl nodded.

"If we need to, we'll ask to borrow a larger room."

"No need. Tell Irukukwu to come in here. She'll understand," said Tabitha. Then she frowned. "Also remind her she is to wear clothes."

Gil didn't get it until he saw the dragon shift into a human, bare naked, before holding out a cloak.

The apparent dragon girl took the cloak with a long suffering sigh, before following Gil to Louise's room. He had already sent Flame inside, who was curled up on Kirche's lap like some sort of odd dog.

Once there, she practically lounged on Tabitha's lap like some sort of cat.

Satisfied that everything was in hand, Gil tracked down Professor Colbert in his lab and explained why the girls would be absent from class, along with the secretary.

* * *

Colbert looked rather tired.

"I see. It's good to know that Miss Vallière has summoned such a capable familiar, able to anticipate his Master's problem and deal with it in an appropriate matter. To be honest I was in the process of brewing some potions that would negate the need for dreams until they were able to cope with the memory," he admitted.

"Better they have an adult they trust to talk to, than rely on potions," countered Gil, though he could appreciate the sentiment.

"And I can understand choosing a teacher, but why Miss Longueville?"

"It's a long story, but it mostly boils down to the fact that she's tired of having the dean act like a pervert around her and she could use a break," said Gil, lying on the fly. "And Siesta was probably affected worse because she was the subject of the man's attention, and she knew if we didn't come that she was next."

Colbert nodded in approval. It was good to know Gil didn't treat commoners the same way most students and nobles did.

They never would have considered how badly the commoner that was the target of the entire mess would be reacting to how close she had come to being in that awful dungeon.

"Which reminds me, I have to bring food for the girls so they can have a day off discussing what happened," said Gil.

The chef had been leery of Gil after learning he was a noble, but after Gil and Louise almost singlehandedly saved Siesta from Count Mott and insured that man was arrested and put in jail for life, he was willing to give the blond the benefit of a doubt. Finding out he had dragged Siesta away from her duties so she could talk to the other girls about it who had been affected only solidified Gil's position among the servants in the academy.

Marteau gave Gil enough food to feed a small adventuring group for a week, if they rationed it appropriately. Gil calmly brought the food up to Louise's room, where he could see the difference in attitude immediately. From a subtle tension as they reluctantly spoke of the events in the mansion, to an uneasy truce between them all. The girls descended on the food like locusts, particularly the chocolate. That was Gil's personal addition, because he knew for a fact all girls loved chocolate and after dealing with such a horrifying subject it was the go-to comfort food. Well, that and ice cream, but he had no idea if they even knew how to _make_ that here, let alone maintain the right temperature.

Chocolate, however, was doable.

"You feeling alright, Louise?" asked Gil.

"Why did you leave me alone with everyone? Kirche and Tabitha had their familiars here!" she hissed at him.

Gil gave her a flat look.

"This sort of situation is something that affects girls more than boys, because of the contents of the cells. The fact I'm a _human_ male means that having me here would have made things far more awkward than it needed to be, and I had to make arrangements for you three to be away from class for today and tomorrow. Siesta is also excused from her duties for the next two days so she can have a day off with her family nearby. Also, Professor Colbert said he was brewing some dreamless sleep potions for everyone if you need it. Besides, someone had to go bribe the cook for the chocolate," said Gil sensibly.

Louise blinked, but his counterargument was solid.

"Actually my cousins wanted to thank you for getting me out of that mansion, and they work at an inn in town," admitted Siesta.

Considering they had worked past some of the issues she'd been having trying to sleep, a day away from the other girls sounded _wonderful_.

"Ah... mind if we join you?" said Kirche sheepishly.

Siesta blinked, before she smiled.

"I should warn you, my uncle is quite...unique. Though I'm sure you couldn't possibly worse than the Royal Tax collector is when he visits the inn."

Gil snorted. He had heard about Siesta's uncle. The man was so flamboyant it was a miracle he hadn't just outed himself as being gay outright. Though he wasn't sure if the man was simply unaware of that fact, or if there was some taboo in this kingdom, or if that was simply his personality. He wasn't going to ask.

Still, he was sure it would be entertaining at the very least.

"Perhaps we should go incognito. The last thing we need is to explain _why_ you three are skipping classes, or the reason behind it," said Gil to Tabitha, Louise and Kirche pointedly.

Kirche brightened as she caught on.

"Like a secret mission! An adventure!" she said enthusiastically, her usual personality coming back.

Tabitha was her usual stoic self, but he could see she approved of the idea as well. It didn't hurt that Gil passed her another one of his many books he had in his treasury for her to read. He could handle a quiet bookworm.

Louise blinked, before sighing and going along with it. To be honest, she needed a day away from magic as well.

Since the incident at the mansion, she had thrown herself into silent casting to the point where she had to replace her entire wardrobe of school uniforms. Her original set were little more than scraps, but she could honestly say that if things went bad, she could at least blow herself up and cause a distraction three times out of five.

It was slow, but she was making improvements. Even if she had to use the same spell repeatedly and twitch her fingers until she exploded.

It didn't hurt that Gil had given her a secondary focus that was perfectly innocuous and wouldn't look out of place for a girl to own. It was a simple golden bracelet, something that a noblewoman would wear, but just within the price range of a school girl. It was tasteful enough to be worn daily, but not interesting enough to warrant more than a glance from the mages around her.

With it on, Louise found she _could_ use her magic without the wand, but that it required being able to move her hand or at least twitch her fingers. And heaven help her if she tried to cast a spell with it. It was mostly so she could use her magic enough to set off one of her infamous explosions.

* * *

The Charming Fairy inn. One look inside and at the owner, and Gil barely managed to keep from laughing. Fortunately Siesta was able to help the girls blend in as well-to-do commoners. Kirche was to leave her familiar behind, and Sylphied was happy enough to stay in human form, despite her penchant for disliking clothing.

It was living. It was bright. It was warm.

Louise found herself relaxing for the first time in days. She noticed the bored look on Gil's face.

"Before you get any ideas, I am never wearing something like that," she said flatly.

Gil looked at her with amusement.

"I would say something, but it would only set you off," said Gil. Seeing her confusion, he nodded to Kirche discreetly, then at the outfits. It took her a few seconds to catch on.

Louise scowled, but at least he had the tact not to say what he was thinking about her in that outfit out loud in front of the one person who might take it as a chance to tease her for a few days about it.

The fact he was discreetly _not_ saying she didn't have the bust to quite pull it off as effectively as she could have.

They were about finished with their late lunch when it happened.

A fat noble came in, sniffed as if he found the very inn distasteful to his sensibilities, and was unsubtle about sending almost all the customers packing. From the looks on the "fairies" faces, this wasn't an uncommon occurance.

"Who was that?" asked Gil dangerously.

"The royal tax collector," said Siesta tiredly.

"I take he threatens to increase taxes if he's not satisfied?" said Gil.

"And he takes it out on the inn the most, because the girls refuse to serve him," said Siesta. "And those that end up being stuck with the duty are _always_ given a paid day off and some extra money after."

"So basically he's a friend of Mott's," said Gil flatly. Siesta nodded. "Give me five minutes while I talk to your uncle, and I'll deal with this idiot myself. Louise, Kirche, Tabitha? You should be prepared to summon the woman who dealt with the mess in the mansion in case he does something to warrant it."

"We'll go change," said Kirche.

"Gil, what are you going to do?"

"Why pretend to be a fairy of course!" said Gil smiling. Louise choked.

A few adjustments and Gil was successfully able to pretend he was a 'girl', at least enough to pass inspection from this idiot.

Siesta and her cousins were understandably nervous about Gil doing this, but it was a better idea than sending Louise. And sending for the guard early on by playing the affronted card meant that not even the tax collector could mount a prolonged assault.

Commoners complaining about being unfairly persecuted by someone collecting taxes were one thing. That was easy to brush off.

Students taking an excused day off and relaxing at an inn only to be kicked out rather rudely by another noble despite the fact that they had their wands on them at the time and not hidden was another matter. The fact it was _three_ of them, one of which was the personal friend of the princess herself and the one who accidentally exposed the dealings of Count Mott was another matter entirely.

At the very least, it would get the princess' attention. At worst, this idiot would end up in a cell next to Mott if he tried anything and the owner backed him up.

The princess took protecting the commoners seriously. She wasn't about to let such acts go unpunished.

Gil managed to hold his bile down rather admirably, until the man made the mistake of looking at him with a leer he had last seen on Mott. And to make matters worse, he was looking at the other girls with that same expression.

Gil saw the captain of the Henrietta's personal guard within ear shot, but the noble in front of him didn't.

Time to trick this idiot into busting himself.

"So you're saying you plan to hire us for your mansion?"

"Hire is too strong a word. My dear friend Mott always had the best ideas, and it's a shame his...collection...was seized by the Queen," he said.

And there it was. Gil smirked evilly.

"Funny you should mention a man who had both kneecaps forcibly shattered so bad that the water mages couldn't fix it all, before he was slowly and painfully castrated to the point that he nearly died from shock. It's a pity he couldn't _enjoy_ the delightful realization of being stripped of his noble title longer before his heart gave out," said Gil in a sweet tone that was only heard by the fat pig in front of him.

It took a few moments for his words to penetrate the man's fat skull, but when he did he whitened to the point he could have been a corpse.

"What are you... how dare you speak of my good friend that way!" he blustered, drawing his wand and about to blast Gil for his words.

"That's enough. You're under arrest for an attempted assault on a familiar," said Agnes flatly.

"Familiar?!" he practically shouted.

Gil smirked.

"And by the way, I'm a boy," he said. That was the final straw as the fat pig fainted.

Agnes eyed Gil appreciatively.

"Well played."

"He annoyed me," said Gil flatly. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to change into something more appropriate."

Louise hadn't heard most of what that fat fool said, but she got the general gist of it. Enough that she decided to focus more on the after party considering the idiot had left most of his gold on the table...which was promptly seized as 'tips' for the fairies. Gil discreetly added several gold coins from his own vault as well.


	7. Chapter 7

Gil found himself stuck in the rather amusing position of acting like a teddy bear to Louise. This was because she had recently taken a dreamless sleep, and was finally out like a light.

Still, the events of the past two days had definitely done a number on Louise and the others. Out of them all, only Tabitha was able to sleep without the potion.

On the plus side, he didn't have to listen to yet another argument between Kirche and Louise ever again.

It seemed the therapy did wonders for their rivalry, and Kirche had let off since seeing Louise break down in front of her.

He frowned when he heard someone walking up to the door. Earlier Louise had seen her friend Henrietta for some special announcement, so he had no idea why anyone would be bothering them at this hour of the night.

Carefully maneuvering Louise, Gil approached the door.

He found the princess there waiting. He held up a finger to his lips, a universal sign of silence.

Henrietta blinked, before she saw Louise asleep...with the potion on the table.

"Count Mott's mansion really affected her, as did running into his 'friend'. So if you're here with a mission..."

Henrietta sighed.

"Unfortunately I am, and it's of the utmost importance. War could break out and we'll be bereft of an ally if this goes wrong."

Gil sighed.

"I'll wake her up then."

He went to the dresser, picked up a jug of water...and unceremoniously threw it on Louise. She came awake with all the dignity of a squalling cat.

She glared at Gil before she realized who else was in the room.

"Henrietta?!"

* * *

 _One explanation later..._

"So basically you're in love with the Albion prince, but you're forced to marry the Germania king to secure an alliance. However you sent a rather steamy love letter to the prince that would ruin everything, so you want your friend to retrieve it for you before Albion's royals lose," Gil summed up.

Henrietta nodded miserably.

Gil looked at Louise. She'd do anything for Henrietta, and he had no doubt what her answer will be.

"I'll agree to this on _one_ condition. We pick who goes with us and under no circumstance is Viscount Wardes to join us."

Henrietta blinked, before she stared at him.

"Do you have a problem with Viscount Wardes?"

"I personally have nothing against the man," Gil said, lying through his teeth, "But the fact remains he's my Master's fiancee and he might try to 'sample the goods' before their wedding and considering the fact she's been having trouble sleeping since the incident at Count Mott's mansion..."

"You want to avoid an incident, and you don't want Wardes distracting you because of your Master," Henrietta summed up in approval. "I can accept and understand your reasoning. Would Agnes be an acceptable replacement?"

Gil shook his head.

"People will suspect royal involvement if they see her. She's too well known. I have a better idea... Ms. Longueville."

"The dean's secretary?"

"I don't know the specifics of her losing her title as a noble, but if possible could she be given a merit of some sort if we're successful?"

"I'll see what I can do," said Henrietta.

"Who are we bringing?" said Louise, looking more alert and awake.

"Tabitha, Kirche and..."

Gil opened the door, revealing the startled form of Guiche as he fell onto the floor.

"Him."

It took Guiche a few seconds to realize who was in the room, but once Henrietta heard who his father was she accepted the team.

It was small, discreet, and more importantly represented too many different countries to be mistaken for an elite force specifically sent to take a love letter back from Albion's prince.

Besides, Gil knew full well that if they didn't take Tabitha or Kirche, they were likely to follow anyway. Might as well nip that in the bud early on.

* * *

"What."

"I picked you for a team to head into Albion to retrieve something personal from it's prince. I also convinced the princess to look into at the very least give you some sort of merit, or hopefully return your title as a noble to you if we succeed. All you have to do is act as our escort into enemy territory," said Gil.

Longueville stared at him for his audacity.

"Just to be clear... I have to help you get past the Reconquista forces to retrieve a _letter_...and in exchange I might be able to get my titles back?"

"And Wardes is not to come with us. I made it very clear on that front," said Gil flatly.

"Why me?"

"One, I still have viable blackmail material on you, and this puts you even deeper in my debt. Two, while you are a thief, you've been able to supply valuable information and will likely come in handy later. And three, because having you turn on Wardes will provide a viable distraction if the man is stupid enough to make a move on Louise because she's supposedly a Void mage," said Gil flatly.

She stared at him and admitted he raised three valid points. Wardes had no idea the seal was removed as Gil had helped her recreated it using something he called a permanent marker to keep anyone from realizing it. Thus if and when he did appear, her sudden attack on him would definitely cause a viable distraction.

Sighing as she realized he was giving her the best chance, and he was at least attempting to be nice about asking, she looked him in the eyes.

"If this works you can call me Matilda afterwards. That's my real name."

"Get your things packed and when we're ready to leave hand them to me so I can carry them."

She nodded. Though she wondered how he was planning to carry them when he had his familiar rusty sword still slung across his back.

Derflinger apparently refused to be left in Gil's treasury, so he was forced to keep him outside instead.

"I'm surprised you asked for us by name," said Kirche. She didn't bother using her usual nicknames for boys, because she was still angry Gil called her old.

"Let's face it, your room is on the same floor as Louise. Odds are you'd notice us sneaking out and follow us anyway. Might as well bring you in from the start, preferably ready for a mission," said Gil without hesitation.

Kirche smirked at him.

Gil then turned to Tabitha.

"And if she saw us, she'd drag you and your dragon with her, because Sylphied is much faster than any horse and can see us from above. Likely while you were trying to sleep and completely unprepared."

Tabitha looked him in the eye before nodding in complete agreement.

"And that's not getting into the fact that it would be better to have people already familiar with Louise and adventuring along. Those from different nations so as to reduce the odds of anyone realizing we're on a mission from Princess Henrietta. Guiche, however, stumbled on the mission when he saw the princess sneak to Louise's room."

"I've been meaning to ask... I know Louise took Professor Colbert up on the offer to take potions for the next week to sleep better...but how did you wake her up to alert her that the princess was in her room?" asked Kirche.

Gil smirked.

"You really want to know?"

Kirche nodded.

"I heard her yelp," she admitted.

"I've kept a pitcher of cold water every night since I was summoned. Partly in the event either of us is thirsty during the night, but also in case of events such as this when I need Louise up in a hurry."

Kirche's jaw dropped.

"You didn't."

"I threw the pitcher on her. Potion or not, no one can sleep through being drenched in the summer with such cold water, especially those who aren't used to being that cold," said Gil smugly.

"You are an evil, sneaky boy. That is too funny for words!" said Kirche, giggling. That certainly explained Louise's voice being able to carry across the hall to her room! She would have done the same thing if Flame had the presence of mind to pull the same trick on her!

"We leave tomorrow morning. Thanks to adding Tabitha and Sylphied, we can cut travel distance to hours rather than days on horseback."

Tabitha looked at him seriously.

"Supplies," she said quietly.

Gil grinned.

"Can you hand me a book?"

Tabitha gave him the one she was about to read. Gil took it with a nod...before putting it into a golden ripple. He waited a few moments, before pulling it back out. She checked it over. It was completely undamaged.

"I can carry an unlimited amount. The issue is that I have limits to how much I can retrieve at once. So supplies aren't an issue, and neither is money."

"I've never seen a spell like that. What is that?"

"It's called the Gate of Babylon. It's a Noble Phantasm that links to my personal treasury, and since it's been around for a long time, it has a lot of things in there...including weapons."

"That sounds incredibly useful," said Kirche, openly impressed.

"Unfortunately it's ability as a weapon is limited at the moment. I can fix that, but the consequences of it would be rather unpleasant to deal with. Which is why I'll say this now while we have a chance. If things get so bad that I have to unleash my full armor and powers, I apologize in advance. He's a bit of a...handful...to deal with. Kirche, you can read the book Louise loaned Tabitha can't you?"

"Barely. I mean I can get the gist of it, but some of the runes are hard to read."

"Trust me when I say that the book and the picture will keep you alive in the event _he_ has to make an appearance. I really, really hope I don't have to ask _him_ for help," said Gil with disgust.

Gil _detested_ Gilgamesh. He was an arrogant, selfish bastard who only thought of himself first and he refused to help anyone unless he was in the mood for it, which was almost never. And he had a bad habit of killing innocent people for not recognizing him.

Tabitha gave him an odd look.

"You know the man in the picture?" she asked.

"That book I gave Louise is his legend. His full name is Gilgamesh, King of Heroes. He's also an arrogant prick I wish I didn't know so much about," said Gil sighing.

"Older brother?" asked Tabitha. It would explain why Gil looked like a younger version of him.

"Something like that. It's...complicated."

"I'll get to reading," said Kirche. Now she had to see that picture, if only to see an older and hopefully more open-minded Gil. Needless to say she was drooling when she saw it...as she could tell pretty quick he hadn't been wearing _anything_ in the picture.

* * *

Viscount Wardes was having an irritating day.

The princess had taken initiative and sent his fiancee to retrieve the letter that the rebellion vaguely knew of. Normally this wouldn't be an issue. As Louise's fiancee and the head of the Gryffin Knights, it was only natural that he be chosen to accompany such a mission.

Except he hadn't. In fact the princess had expressly _forbidden_ him from accompanying Louise and her group. And the Queen had backed her up when the princess spoke to her about it.

And that wouldn't do at all.

He needed that letter to ruin the upcoming wedding between the Germania king and the princess. It also gave him the perfect opportunity to kill the royals while pretending to be on a mission.

There was also the issue of Fouquet. She hadn't returned after the incident with the Staff of Destruction. In fact she returned to the school as if nothing had happened.

Which wasn't what he told her to do at all.

Perhaps it was time to remind the insolent woman her _loyalty_ to him.

* * *

 _Elsewhere..._

A mage named Cromwell smirked as he got the news from Wardes. The girl they believed was the first Void mage in centuries was heading to Albion. It put her in the perfect position to be taken, and for Wardes to gain control of the silly chit.

And if that wasn't enough, Princess Charlotte was also in the group, as well as Wardes' pawn Fouquet.

Things were indeed looking up.


	8. Chapter 8

"Louise, I hate to say this but your familiar is the most useful man I've ever met. He might not cook or clean, but when it comes to adventuring he's second to none!" said Kirche appreciatively.

The second she found out about his Gate of Babylon and the fact he could be turned into the world's most useful packmule, Kirche and surprisingly Tabitha decided to abuse the hell out of it.

Kirche brought random but extremely useful toys her father had picked up while he was out, but rarely found a use for considering his magic, while Tabitha stocked up on so many healing potions and items that she had almost literally turned Gil into a walking apothecary.

And that wasn't counting the clothes...dear Brimir...the clothes.

It was a good thing none of them were _currently_ inclined to abuse his treasure vaults to go shopping, otherwise he'd be screwed and not in the good way.

Louise preened at the praise, despite not being technically directed at her.

"I couldn't agree more. It might have been a slight disappointment to summon a fellow noble from another world, but I wouldn't trade him for a dragon. No offense, Tabitha, Sylphied," she was quick to add.

Tabitha nodded, and patted her dragon on the head.

"He can be scary, but when it comes to adventuring he's the most useful man I've ever met," agreed Ms. Longueville. She had reluctantly come along, despite knowing without a doubt Wardes would show up all too soon and find out about his seal.

Said 'useful male' was currently sleeping against Louise. Because he had been stuck as Louise's "teddy bear" he had been unable to sleep because she kept him at awkward angles. At least he wasn't snoring _too_ loudly, and he wasn't drooling.

Louise was trying very hard not to blush at the fact Gil was sleeping on her lap.

Guiche eyed Louise and her familiar oddly.

"What exactly have you two been doing at night to make him so exhausted?"

Louise flushed.

"Not what Kirche does, I can guarantee you that!" she said a little too quickly.

"She hasn't been able to sleep normally after what happened in Count Mott's mansion, so I've been forced to sit next to her while she sleeps. Unfortunately, she's very grabby when she's having a nightmare," said Gil without opening his eyes.

"I thought he was asleep?" said Kirche, staring at him.

"I'm napping, there's a difference. Not much of a familiar if I can't hear people talking," said Gil.

"Go back to sleep," said Louise.

"So why are we taking Sylphied instead of horses? I thought we were supposed to be discreet?" asked Guiche.

Louise was the one to explain it to him, allowing Gil to sleep some more.

"Sylphied is faster and more importantly because it means we lessen the risk of being attacked by bandits on the road. Because of our mission, it's not inconceivable that someone would hire brigands to delay us," said Louise.

Guiche nodded. That was a sound reason to avoid the roads.

In the span of hours, they were just outside the boundaries of the port town.

Longueville went to the captains of the wind ships, and found that only one was scheduled to make any deliveries to Albion. And it was to leave tomorrow morning. With how tired Gil evidently was, and the fact they would have a better chance of making it past any blockade made by the rebels on a chartered ship, they reluctantly picked a modest inn.

It wasn't due to budget constraints, or because of paranoia (well, maybe a little...) but due to the fact Gil had reminded them this was a _secret_ mission, and they were less likely to draw attention as envoys of Henrietta if they didn't out themselves as nobles right off the bat by picking a place magic students would go to instinctively.

The inn that Gil picked was modestly well-to-do to the point it could cater to nobles and commoners without any difficulty. The food and wine took a hit, but that was a small sacrifice compared to one thing Gil took full advantage of.

They had thick bars on the doors and the windows. Ones enchanted not to budge under magic. It wouldn't stop a servant, but it would deter most weaker mages.

Besides, there was one thing about this place that he had kept from Louise.

Some of Siesta's family worked here.

"Ah! You must be Siesta's Lady! It's a pleasure to meet you in person!" said Siesta's cousin Angeline.

Louise looked at Gil oddly.

"You knew, didn't you?"

"I talk to Siesta's cousins all the time and they mentioned it off hand after the mess at the inn," admitted Gil.

Mostly because Ellie had full hero-worship in her eyes whenever he was around, and it was nice to be reminded of his good deeds. Well that and he sometimes gave the little girl sweets or small coppers.

Once he had eaten, Gil promptly went upstairs to take a nap. Upon realizing he had been allowing her to use him something like a large stuffed animal at night, Louise gave into the inevitable and declared she was sharing the room with him.

By now most of the school already believed that the two were at the very least dating (no doubt helped along by Kirche at some point) so it didn't really draw an eyebrow from the rest of the group.

In order to save money (and because it would make it appear that they were operating on limited funding...) everyone save Guiche doubled up.

Tabitha and her familiar took the other bed in the room with Louise and Gil. Kirche and Longueville took the other double, while Guiche had the 'luck' of getting the single.

Wardes was frowning. He had discreetly inquired on the location of his missing fiancee, and come up empty. Thanks to the royalists, most captains were leery of leaving to Albion, even if they were good about paying them later. It was just easier to maintain the illusion of being pirates.

This was the third high-ranking hotel and he had been scrapping the barrel when he picked this one.

No noble he knew of would dare stay in anything less than a four-star hotel, and three stars would be pushing it.

Reluctantly, he went into the less reputable inns, asking for a girl mage with a massive temper, pink hair and traveled with a human familiar with blond hair.

He was entirely unaware that Gil had convinced Louise and Tabitha to temporarily dye their hair a darker shade in case their mission leaked. At the moment she was a raven haired mage with a fiery personality and a hired rookie adventurer who couldn't afford to attend the magical academy. Tabitha had gone with brown hair.

Kirche would draw attention no matter where she went with her choice of dress and large bust, and Guiche could pretend he was taking an unscheduled vacation from school.

Gil had told them the plan once they reached the town.

In order to draw less suspicion from the possible rebels, or from anyone trying to stop them, they were going to split up and go in disguises so simple it passed inspection.

Hence why Louise and her 'partner' were going first with Longueville, while Kirche and the others came on after. The captain was aware that there were six in their party and wouldn't leave without all of them unless they were attacked.

The inn Gil chose was a very reputable two-star-going-on-three-star inn, hence why Wardes missed them entirely. And while the beds weren't very comfortable compared to what they were used to, he did remind them it would have been less pleasant if they had to spend _days_ getting to the town rather than a few hours of flying.

Everyone save for Gil was given a bag with enough supplies to last them three days, four if they stretched it. This aided their disguise of being adventurers out to make their fortune rather than a medium-sized team sent by the princess.

Needless to say everyone had been impressed with how thoroughly Gil thought this out. Besides, the company more than made up for any issues they had with the food or drink, as Angeline and her friends had plenty of stories to share about their cousin that Louise could use as blackmail material. The fact that Louise had literally stormed a mansion with only Gil by her side to rescue Siesta had evidently put her firmly in the good books of her family. She would receive a rather warm welcome if she ever visited Tarbes, where Siesta was from.

So when Louise passed Wardes on the street and recognized him instantly, she barely kept silent. Her sudden tension alerted Gil however.

It took little effort to find out that Wardes evidently knew of their mission, and despite direct orders from his sovereign was determined to find Louise.

Any chances of it being for innocent reasons were next to nill, after what Longueville had told him weeks ago about Wardes. That combined with Gil's explanation for why he didn't want the man anywhere near Louise at the moment meant that he was likely going to make a grab for her.

"Why is Wardes here? I know you told her not to let him come!" hissed Louise.

"Are you complaining now about the idea of using temporary dye in your hair?" said Gil. Louise shook her head emphatically.

"I really don't want to be reminded of that stupid wedding or the fact that I'm to marry him when I turn twenty. And with my nightmares..."

She didn't need to say anything, but Gil was acutely aware of her night terrors. It wasn't as bad as it was right after the incident, or the reminder in the Charming Fairy inn, but she still had trouble sleeping some nights. Being able to talk about it with an adult she trusted had done wonders, as had mending bridges with Kirche and befriending Tabitha properly. The fact Siesta had admitted to having similar nightmares didn't hurt either.

Being around Viscount Wardes who as Gil had so delicately phrased it, might want to 'sample the goods' before the wedding, was not what she needed emotionally or mentally right now. Especially since she had begun to see Gil in a different light as something other than a fellow noble and a familiar.

He didn't see her as "the Zero", or as the spare third child of the De La Vallière family.

He saw her as simply Louise, the explosion mistress. He gave her a direction she could follow and still be able to make a name for herself as a mage without being forced into a position of just being a housewife.

So if she had to say which man she would rather have around her on a daily basis, no matter what obligations she had to Viscount Wardes or the fact that they were to be wed, she would say without hesitation she preferred Gil's quiet and encouraging presence than his almost untouchable one.

"In any case, we should warn the others."

 _At the inn..._

"I don't understand. Why is a bad thing that Viscount Wardes is here?" asked Guiche, confused.

Gil sighed.

"You remember the news about the royal Messenger and the Tax collector being arrested and stripped of their titles?" said Gil. Guiche nodded. "Well Louise, Kirche and Tabitha were there when Count Mott took Siesta by force, and there were some very unsavory things in his basement that Siesta helped expose with Louise's help. However because she saw the full brunt of what was in there, Louise has been having some serious nightmares for weeks after."

Louise was quiet, preferring not to look Guiche in the eye.

"How bad?"

"Bad enough that having Wardes around would have been detrimental to the mission. Because he's to be married to Louise after she graduates, he might feel inclined to 'sample the goods' so to speak before the wedding. With her night terrors and what she saw in that basement that would absolutely do more harm than good, so I requested that they keep him far from this particular mission. It's also why the larger group was approved for it," said Gil.

Guiche looked at Louise, then at Gil.

"I see what you mean. So then why is Viscount Wardes here?"

"Because of some information I received from the dean after Fouquet lost the staff, apparently some of the nobles in Reconquista believe Louise to be a...Void mage."

Everyone stared at him save for Longueville.

"Evidently there are some who want to set Louise up to be the next coming of Brimir or some such nonsense. Naturally that would put her into opposition of her best friend, so we need to keep her out of Wardes' hands if at all possible. He was expressly forbidden by the queen and the princess to stay out of this mission for a reason," said Gil flatly.

"You're saying Wardes is a traitor?" said Kirche, slack-jawed.

"He was told not to come, and the reason would have had to be explained to him. The fact he's here and that I overheard him explicitly asking for a girl fitting the general description of Louise means he's not here on official business." 

Guiche suddenly looked at him.

"Is that why you told Tabitha and Louise to dye their hair a different shade using weak potions?"

Gil nodded.

"If someone knew of our mission and that Louise had been chosen to retrieve the item, they'd likely look for a noble in a high class inn with pink hair and a temper with a boy that has gold hair and a rusty sword. Who comes to mind if someone asked you to identify someone with that general description?"

"Louise and you," said Guiche, seeing his point. And asking at a three to five star inn for a noble was an obvious trick, especially considering very few nobles would 'lower' themselves to enter a place like the inn they were currently staying at, much less rent a room despite the fact it was obviously cheaper.

And for someone as sheltered as Louise, that would be the best place to look for her using such a simple description.

Had it not been for Gil choosing the inn and convincing them to change their hair color, Wardes would have found them with laughable ease.

Guiche looked at Gil shrewdly.

"You're quite the experienced adventurer, aren't you Gil?"

Gil smirked.

"I prefer to think of it as common sense."

He might be a king, but even he knew how to apply common sense to make a mission go more smoothly.

"So what do we do now?" asked Kirche. "If Wardes is looking for us..."

"Our group is going to split up with a minor variation. Instead of Ms. Longueville, Tabitha will come with us. You three are enough to attract the attention of Wardes since you didn't bother to disguise yourself. And Ms. Longueville, don't go anywhere that being hit with a blast of wind would be deadly," said Gil flatly. She nodded in absolute agreement.

"Feel free to take a potshot at Wardes from the ship if you have to," she said equally flat.

"Believe me, if he gives me reason to I absolutely will. You're still too useful to allow him to kill you so easily," said Gil grinning evilly.

"Am I missing something?" said Louise.

Gil gave Longueville a look. She sighed.

"You might as well tell them. It'll come out anyway knowing my luck."

"Remember how suspicious it was that Fouquet didn't put up more of a fight when we retrieved that 'staff'?" said Gil.

"I did think it odd, but I just assumed we missed her or something," said Kirche.

"It's because Louise's Archer Servant was right next to me and she was too close to any potential blasts," said Longueville flatly.

"Why would that..." Kirche suddenly stared at Longueville. " _You're_ Fouquet?!" 

"I busted her before she could attack, and made it clear I'd kill her before she had a chance to get near Louise. In exchange for removing a seal someone had placed on her, she's been acting as my inside source of information. She's the one who told me that Wardes wasn't to be trusted."

"Can we trust her?" asked Kirche seriously.

"I'm her best chance at regaining her nobility, and if I didn't trust her she would have been dead a long time ago," said Gil.

"So what's the plan?" asked Tabitha. She had closed her book from the surprise of learning Longueville was in fact Fouquet.


	9. Chapter 9

As Gil had predicted, upon seeing Longueville with Kirche and the others, he went after them first. Meanwhile, Tabitha and Louise slipped onto the boat with Gil as their guard.

Sylphied would fly the others to the ship once Gil distracted Wardes with one of his weapons. Just to be safe, he would be providing cover fire to insure Wardes didn't have a chance of killing Longueville out of fear she would divulge the truth to them to save her own skin.

It was simple, to the point, and the best plan he could come up with on the fly. It left plenty of opportunities for error and adjustments.

It took little bribery for the captain to set off, and once they were a decent distance away, Gil drew his bow and aimed at Wardes.

The runes of Gandalfr glowed ominously as he fired. The Broken Phantasm he launched at Wardes was enough to knock him on his ass, and give Sylphied the signal to take off. Longueville, Guiche and Kirche barely managed to grab onto the ropes that had been tied to the dragon in time, but once they were in the air they were able to get on her back rather than hang on.

Wardes looked pissed, and for good reason.

Armed with enchanted arrows he had bought earlier, Gil made defense the traitor's main priority as they sliced through the air like some form of deadly rain from above. He might be the captain of the Gryffin Knights, but his spells couldn't hope to counter the sniping of an Archer class Servant, much less get off an aria from the constant barrage Gil let off.

He had bought a _lot_ of enchanted arrows. All they had in stock, to be specific. And some they enchanted on the spot.

Kirche gave him an interesting look when they boarded the ship, too high for Wardes to fly up on his own merit without help. Sylphied had barely been able to catch up.

"Has anyone told you that you're damn scary when you want to be?"

Gil snorted.

"I'm a Servant. My stats are naturally higher than a human, and that's without getting into what they were before," said Gil amused.

"Impressive," said Tabitha in her usual monotone.

"What the hell was that?!" demanded the captain.

"A dispute with a traitor," Gil summed up. "How much do you want to forget about my attack on the idiot and continue onward?"

"Fifty gold," said the captain equally prompt. The girls and Guiche balked at the sum, but seeing Gil hand over a sack of coins and watching the captain discreetly count them, he nodded to Gil.

"Pleasure doing business with you," said the man, ignoring Gil entirely. He could care less so long as he was paid.

Seeing their disbelieving expressions, Gil shrugged.

"It's easier to simply pay what they ask than haggle, and odds are he'll speak favorably if we have to go on another mission with one of his friends. So long as their paid, most people generally ignore or keep their mouths mostly shut about any strangeness."

"Actually we're more in shock you handed fifty gold over without hesitation like that," said Kirche.

"The princess only gave me forty," said Louise, frowning.

"I did say my Gate went into my treasury. Why did you think it only contained weapons and the bulk of our supplies?" said Gil pointedly.

"He has a point," said the ever stoic Tabitha. "The word 'treasury' usually implies more than treasure."

Kirche rubbed her forehead.

"Exactly how rich are you?"

"You'll get that answer the moment I'm forced to let _him_ loose on some poor unsuspecting idiot," said Gil without hesitation.

He didn't like his adult self, and the feeling was mutual.

"There you go again, talking about a 'him' as if that person doesn't exist. Who is 'him' and why do you dislike that person so much to refuse to give his name?!"

"Is it Gilgamesh?" interrupted Tabitha. Leave it to the quiet one to figure it out.

"Yes. I can't stand the idea of becoming like that, or understand the reason why his personality became so disgusting," said Gil.

"You're afraid. You think you'll become him," summed up Tabitha.

"I don't think, I _know_. It's...complicated," said Gil.

Tabitha, having reread the "Epic of Gilgamesh" as second time, had begun to form several suspicions in her mind. Which was why the next thing she said made Gil wince.

"Potion of youth?" she asked.

Gil refused to look her in the eyes.

"Actually Louise summoned me directly from the Throne of Heroes in this form. Which considering _his_ personality is likely the only reason things haven't been worse."

Tabitha nodded, and pulled out a book to read.

"I'm confused," said Guiche.

"Well I'm not explaining it unless I have to," said Gil. "If you really must know, as Tabitha as she seems to have figured out the gist of what I've been talking about."

After a few futile attempts to get the quiet girl to explain, they mostly went to explore the ship or watch the scenery. Gil opted to lean against the wood of the ship and nap. Last night had been much easier, but that didn't mean he couldn't rest.

Tabitha's quiet turning of the page was interrupted with a question.

"Your treasury... does it have anything to cure madness?"

Gil opened a single eye and looked in her direction.

"Depends on the source."

"Potion. Almost six years ago. Even the cure hasn't worked," Tabitha summed up quietly.

"...Mother or father?"

"Mother. Father was killed prior."

"I'll have to look later, but if nothing else perhaps reverting the age a few years to before the potion might help. No guarantees though," said Gil. Tabitha nodded and returned to her book.

* * *

 _Three hours later..._

It was the twinge on the edge of his senses that alerted him. Gil was up and moving before Louise or the others registered he was awake.

It took Longueville two seconds after realizing he was up and awake to realize what was happening.

"Pirates?"

"Worse. Another Servant, likely the Rider spirit that helped you escape."

She paled.

"The woman who ran the ship liked to mock the 'pirates' of Albion rather derisively, if that helps."

"It does. It tells me her name," said Gil.

Only one pirate from the Throne of Heroes was a woman.

Sir Francis Drake.

Knowing a hero's name gave the Master plenty to work with when it came to taking them down.

"What's going on?" asked Louise.

"Remember what I told you about the 'Grail War', and how seven Servants were summoned?" said Gil. Louise paled.

"One of them is here?"

"Rider, if I miss my guess."

"What's going on?" asked Kirche.

"We're either being stalked, or we're about to be attacked," said Gil.

"Shouldn't we inform the captain?" asked Guiche.

"Wouldn't do any good. That woman had an entire fleet capable of destroying the ship," said Longueville.

"So she's like Iskander, only with ships rather than her soldiers. That makes it easier," said Gil.

Suddenly the captain shouted "Pirates off the starboard bow!"

The feeling Gil got came from behind and to the port side. So it wasn't Rider.

"Ah, of course. The royalists," said Gil with realization. He almost relaxed, save for the fact that he knew Rider was too close for comfort...and possibly her Master.

"Louise, you go talk to the captain of the pirates, I'll keep an eye out for enemy Servants," said Gil. She nodded.

"What is all this talk about Servants?" said Kirche.

Tabitha had gone alone with Louise, while Guiche and Longueville waited close by.

"There is a magical ritual where I'm from called Heaven's Feel. It requires seven mages and seven heroic spirits called 'Servants'. The mages summon the Servants under specific classes, and have to fight it out until only one Master and Servant remain. The classes are Saber, Lancer, Archer, Rider, Berserker, Caster, and finally Assassin. When the ritual is completed the 'winner' of the Grail Wars is granted a single unlimited wish."

"I thought it was called Heaven's Feel?" said Kirche.

"It's been called many things, but the two most common titles for it are Heaven's Feel or the 'Grail Wars' because of how violent they can get. To put it into perspective, it's a commonly accepted tactic to take out the 'Masters' of the Servants, rather than confront the Servant directly because they're inherently weaker."

"I still don't get it," said Guiche.

"Let me put it another way. If Brimir was summoned as a 'Servant', then it would likely be under the Caster class. Now who would you rather fight? A legendary figure like Brimir, only limited by the class constraints, or the mage who summoned them?" said Gil.

"The mage... I see your point," admitted Guiche. When he put it like that, it was much easier to understand.

"So why are you so tense anyway?" asked Kirche.

"Because Rider is close by and they can probably sense my presence as well. And from her description, she likely has a fleet of ships ready to blast us," said Gil flatly. "But considering we have Louise on board, they might wait until she's alone to attack."

"The prince is missing!" shouted one of the crew.

"Shit."

* * *

Louise was furious, and rightly so. They hadn't expected the traitor Wardes to have brought reinforcements of his own, much less something as dangerous as the ring Cromwell had on him.

Any chances of her believing Wardes went out the window once she found herself unable to control her own body.

How dare he. _How dare he_?

Wales had no idea what was really happening. All he knew was that Louise had stiffened at the sight of Wardes and that the quiet brunette beside her had been watching the entire thing with laser intensity.

Tabitha knew better than to say anything. Not without her staff. However her frown said quite a bit on how she felt about the situation.

Wardes was next to Louise, who's right hand was clenched so tightly in a fist that he assumed it was to shield the ring the Princess gave her. He had no idea.

If she had any control at the moment, she would have attacked Wardes without hesitation for this farce of a 'wedding' he had put together and somehow roped Wales into joining.

Tabitha was the 'maid of honor', though she was as tense as Louise was.

Suddenly the doors slammed open, revealing a very pissed off Gil.

"Take your hands off my master, you filthy traitor."

"Who is that?" said Wales.

"Gil," said Tabitha in open relief.

Wardes put his hands around Louise's shoulder.

"What business do you have with my soon-to-be wife?" he asked calmly, as if he didn't know who Gil was.

Seeing Louise unable to even move, Gil did something that shocked the prince and Wardes.

He shot an arrow at the hidden Cromwell, startling him enough to release the spell on Louise.

Louise didn't hesitate. She blew herself up, providing enough cover for her to grab Tabitha and a very confused Wales. She managed to get behind Gil, despite the dress Wardes had forced her to wear.

"What in the name of the founder is going on?!" said Wales.

And as if the situation wasn't complicated enough, a new Servant broke through the window with a loud roar.

"Great. Just fantastic. As if we didn't have enough to deal with, some moron summoned Herakles?!" said Gil with a groan.

Berserker, or Herakles as he had been known in life, roared loudly enough to deafen most people.

Realizing the situation, and knowing how much he hated it anyway, Gil turned to Louise and the others.

"Remember what I said about _'him'_?"

"You apologized in advance," said Louise.

"Well, I'll say it again. I apologize for any irritation or other negative emotions he will undoubtedly cause. Just remember not to look him in the eye unless he allows it, otherwise he'll just get bitchy about it," said Gil.

Then inside his mind's eye he saw a throne. Walking up towards it was a youth of at least twenty in a black and white outfit.

He was Gilgamesh, the adult that Gil would become.

 _Finally require my presence, brat?_

Gil was sitting on the 'throne'. He stood up, and calmly walked beside it, allowing Gilgamesh to seize 'control'.

Gilgamesh smirked.

 _Time to show these mongrels what a_ real _king is like._

"Remember, don't kill Louise or the people directly behind you," said Gil.

 _Tch. Like I care about such pathetic mongrels. Still, they have provided me with some entertainment, so perhaps I'll spare them,_ said Gilgamesh.

In the outside world, all they saw was a flash of bright golden light...before Louise suddenly registered the shocking change in her familiar.

Where Gil had been standing with his rather odd shirt and golden necklace...was the same figure she had seen in that photograph Gil had left in the book.

He wore golden armor that completely covered him. He wore golden earrings, and his very demeanor was full of arrogance and power combined. The same 'air' that Louise had felt so comfortable around had magnified at least ten times what it normally was. More importantly was the fact he had 'aged' at least five to ten years in the span of several seconds.

Louise became slack-jawed in shock.

"I don't believe it... the _King of Heroes?!_ " she said in absolute shock. The photo and general description didn't do him justice at all.

Gilgamesh smirked.


	10. Chapter 10

If someone had asked her what Gil was after she summoned him with the Springtime Familiar Ritual, she would have just called him a Noble's son and left it at that.

However seeing the contemptuous ease in which Gilgamesh dispatched this 'Herakles', or 'Berserker'... she could honestly say that he scared her a little.

But that was nothing compared to what he did to Wardes.

Gil merely disliked the man and had found an excuse to expose him.

Gilgamesh seemed angry at him for some reason, and it wasn't until she went over how he phrased his anger at Wardes that she realized his anger was over Wardes taking something of 'his'.

The 'thing' Wardes took was her. Being labeled as a mere possession rather pissed her off, but even she wasn't stupid enough to say anything.

To be perfectly honest, she quickly realized why Gil apologized profusely on multiple occasions if "he" had to come out.

Gilgamesh was a complete _ass_.

"Who or what is that?" said Kirche, having caught up with them.

"Gilgamesh. The adult version of Gil," explained Tabitha.

"You're kidding. That sweet kid became that hunk?" said Kirche.

"Gil is sweet. Gilgamesh is an ass," said Louise.

Prince Wales had been silent up to that point. Louise had more or less explained things to him, but not who "Gilgamesh" was.

"What in the name of the Founder is going on?" asked Guiche.

"Wardes is a traitor and apparently his friends have legendary figures called 'heroic spirits' on his side. Gil broke into the chapel, attacked the mage holding me under a spell and I blew myself up to cause a big enough distraction. Unfortunately it seems Wardes' friends sent Berserker after us, so Gil had no choice but to turn into... him."

"Who is 'he'?" asked Guiche.

"Gilgamesh. King of Heroes. Oldest legend in existence in his world. Not very nice," summed up Tabitha.

"I'm almost tempted to go after him... if his usual self didn't keep calling me 'old'," sniffed Kirche.

Gil kept calling her 'Granny' to piss her off when he was first summoned. Mostly to stay on Louise's good side.

"What do we do now?" said Kirche.

"Well we can't leave Prince Wales here."

"Uh...actually it would be _King_ Wales," said Guiche, his face a little green.

"...Do I want to know?" asked Louise.

"Statues. A lot of them. It took us a bit but we quickly realized that the weird statues in the castle were _people_. It looked permanent, and Ms. Longueville said there's no way to reverse it," said Guiche.

Whatever it was, it was powerful and deadly.

Wales looked horrified.

"My father is dead?" he said.

"He was wearing the crown and Ms. Longueville confirmed he was the king," said Guiche apologetically.

Seeing him break down, Louise put her hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sure Henrietta would be glad to take you and any survivors in. There's no point staying here. You'll just be killed."

Wales realized she had a point. There was no point in ruling over a castle filled with corpses. Sighing, he then turned to where a bored looking Gilgamesh was sitting on one of the few remaining chairs.

He recognized royalty when he saw it.

"Would you like to accompany us back to Tristian, your majesty?"

Gilgamesh snorted derisively.

"I have no intention of staying in such squalid conditions. At least that school is _acceptable_ ," said Gilgamesh arrogantly.

* * *

There was no describing how _relieved_ everyone was when Gilgamesh's armor flared, and a sheepish Gil took his place.

"I did try to warn you," he said.

"You did, but you neglected to mention that Gilgamesh was a despot," said Louise tightly.

"I said there was a reason I didn't like him. Frankly I'm still baffled how I grew up to become like that in the first place."

"Believe me, we all are," said Kirche dryly.

"So what was that monster that attacked? And _what_ was with all those ripples?" said Louise.

"That Monster was the Mad Servant Berserker. It has no reason and is more like a mad dog only intent on killing everything in it's path. However in exchange it has immense power. Add on top of that the fact someone managed to summon Herakles... well, if I had been any other hero you'd have been doomed at the very least."

"Who is Herakles?" asked Tabitha.

"Herakles, or 'Hercules' is the half-mortal son of Zeus. He was the strongest of the Greek servants, physically at least. When he completed the twelve labors, he was granted the gift of immortality and ascended to the realm of the Greek gods known as Olympus. Fortunately for us, _I_ happen to be the child self of Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes. And Gilgamesh once used the chains of heaven to bind a god in order to kill it. The more divinity something has, the stronger the hold," said Gil.

"Kill a god?" said Kirche, jaw dropping incredulous.

"Well, a forest god anyway," admitted Gil.

"And the ripples?" said Louise.

"Gate of Babylon. I can't use it the same way my...other...self can because I don't have the power for it, but I can still access it. Aside from that we have almost all the same powers."

If they weren't already sitting, they would have sat down hard from information overload. This was a lot to take in.

"So what do we do with her now?" asked Kirche, nodding to Matilda, as her name apparently was.

"I'm going to offer myself as a voice for the commoners if the princess is willing. I've been on _both_ sides of that fence, and as a mage without a noble title I'm uniquely suited to ferreting out rumors for her in exchange for a pardon and a decent paycheck. Besides, if I have to deal with one more day of that damn idiot using his mouse to look at my panties again or calling me a spinster I'm going to strangle him!" said Matilda angrily.

The girls all stared at the fuming secretary.

"The dean is a pervert?" said Louise cautiously.

Gil let out a laugh...before damn near collapsing off the dragon. He was _exhausted_. Louise yelped, being closest to him, before grabbing him before he fell off.

"Thanks. I'm going to take a long uninterrupted nap until we reach Henrietta. Wake me up only if Rider is stupid enough to piss me off," said Gil. It took little time before he conked out, his head firmly in Louise's lap.

"...So how do you have a _king_ for a familiar? And why was Wardes so set on controlling you?" asked Wales, changing the subject.

Louise winced.

"Well it's like this..."

* * *

Henrietta was looking at a tired Gil, an exhausted and angry Louise, and a sad Wales. It had taken little time for her to enjoy being reunited with her beloved Prince...now King if their reports were correct.

One of the hardest blows was the loss of Wardes, but after hearing his actions and having them confirmed by Wales, she was just glad that he had failed in his traitorous mission.

Then she turned to a worried Fouquet...or Matilda of Sachsengotha as her real name turned out to be.

Considering the actions of two nobles under her personal purview and the fact Louise ended up being forced to expose their actions, she was inclined to take the woman up on her offer.

"I am sorry I put you through that Louise. I never wanted you to be subject to such a terrible spell, much less what Wardes almost did," said Henrietta.

"Actually I knew he was a traitor before the mission. However I used Louise's nightmares as a means to keep him far, far away from her when she was vulnerable. I didn't think you'd believe me, and it would only serve to have warned Wardes he had a leak," said Gil. Louise couldn't be bothered to glare at him when she heard that.

To be honest, he had done the right thing waiting for Wardes to expose himself, rather than arouse suspicion.

At this point the only thing the team wanted to do was sleep for a week. Fortunately summer vacation was coming up.

Gil had promised to look into Tabitha's mother, to see if he had anything to fix the problem. And Louise was rather curious to see where Tabitha came from, having found a fellow bibliophile in the girl.

Which meant Gil was about to be stuck with a bunch of teenage girls for a few days, since none of them wanted to over-exert Sylphied by flying.

Rather than deal with listening to them gossip about the upcoming war (which was likely to be very noisy indeed), Gil had managed to get onto the roof and laid down after putting most of the luggage inside his treasury.

No one suspected a thing, as he had claimed he was going to sit up front. Even if it was rather bumpy.

* * *

 _Inside the carriage..._

"So Louise, how does it feel to be the envy of every girl in school?"

"What?" said Louise baffled.

"You're wearing the royal rings of both our soon-to-be Queen and the rightful king of Albion. And if that wasn't enough, you've even got a super rare element that hasn't been seen since Brimir's town. _And_ you have an absolutely handsome, loyal and rich familiar who's actually a king!"

Tabitha lowered her book enough to watch Louise's reaction.

She was apparently still in shock that people _envied_ her. For the longest time everyone mocked her, laughed at her, hell they used her as the butt of several jokes because she couldn't use magic.

Suddenly she was the envy of every girl in the school when they heard the news. It was a rather startling change for her. She wasn't sure how to deal with it.

Kirche's expression softened when she realized the look on Louise's face.

"Wow... I had no idea you'd take it this hard. You've really never been praised for your efforts before?"

Louise shook her head.

"I'm not as talented as my sisters, and having me marry Wardes was a last ditch effort by my parents to at least save face," said Louise. She looked close to tears.

To be honest, leaving the school had been a great relief for her.

Kirche rubbed her back.

"I wonder how Gil is handling sitting up front with the driver?"

"He's on the roof, not with the driver," said Tabitha.

Louise and Kirche suddenly blinked.

"How do you know that?"

"Last one to get in. Heard someone moving the bags above us while you were talking to Louise. Only explanation."

Kirche blinked, before she leaned outside and looked at the front. Sure enough, Gil wasn't there.

"Louise, you can see better than I can. Is Gil on the roof?" she asked.

Louise leaned out, while Kirche held her skirt. She came back in with an incredulous look on her face.

"He's _sleeping_ on the roof of the carriage!"

She just barely got a glimpse of his white shirt before she came back in. And from the look of it, Sylphied and Flame were up there with him.

"The familiars are sleeping on the roof while their Masters are chatting down here," chuckled Kirche.

"She better be wearing a cloak up there," said Tabitha crossly.

" _She's not, and it's not like anyone can see us up here,"_ said Gil from above.

Louise yelped when Gil's upside-down face appeared in the window next to her.

"Don't _do_ that!" she said.

"We're all taking a nap in the sunlight, including Flame. Sylphied is laying down naked as the day she was born next to me...and she's wondering why I'm hanging off the carriage."

"Gil, if you're going to hang like that then you might as well come inside."

Gil shook his head.

"Too crowded. I was just wondering why you were hanging out the windows," said Gil grinning. He slid back onto the roof and went back to enjoying the clouds while the carriage rolled along.

"I will never understand how he can sleep so easily up there," said Kirche shaking her head. "So about your family..."

Louise winced.

* * *

Tabitha, whose name was apparently Princess Charlotte of Gallia, watched with hopeful anticipation as Gil examined her mother.

Finally he sighed.

"The youth potion might react badly to whatever she took."

She slumped.

"But I'm pretty sure taking out a prototype of Avalon, the Ever Distant Utopia might work," he said, causing her to perk up.

"I'll pay you anything you want. Just please...heal my mother," said Tabitha, pleading.

"Fortunately I have a plethora of interesting things to try. Avalon is going to be my first attempt though. We'll have to give a few hours to see if it's going to work, because I can't exactly predict what it'll heal first."

It took four hours, and far too much hopeful tension from the normally stoic 'Tabitha' before a change was noticed.

And when it happened, it happened quickly. Apparently drinking a potion of insanity wasn't the only ploy Tabitha's insane uncle had tried to rid himself of his niece and sister-in-law.

One moment the woman was screaming incomprehensibly...the next she slowly started to become more coherent. From there, it was like an avalanche of healing.

It might have been a copy of the original, but for what Tabitha needed it for, a copy was good enough.

By nightfall, Tabitha was practically sobbing in the bewildered lap of her mother.

 _Outside the room_...

"Well?" asked Kirche.

"I'll leave the copy in her mother until morning. It doesn't need to be kept inside her for the effects to be permanent, and it bothers me that it took so long for the copy to fix the damage. Who knows what else was done to her while she was in that state," said Gil.

"I'm happy for Tabitha. Charlotte... whatever her name is that she wants to go by."


End file.
